


The Secret of Black Mirror

by Janie94



Category: Football RPF, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood and Violence, Curses, Drama, Fire, Flashbacks, Ghosts, M/M, Magic Mirrors, Murder, Mystery, Past Rape/Non-con, Revenge, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2018-09-28 02:34:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10066631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janie94/pseuds/Janie94
Summary: It isn't the first time that Black Mirror, the large estate behind the village Willowdale, has made headlines with a tragic accident. In the last 300 years, a lot of people have either disappeared there or died under mysterious circumstances. When the local police is once again tapping in the dark, private detectives Thomas and Manuel are sent to investigate the newest death case. But they soon discover that the walls of this castle hide a lot more dark secrets that want to be unraveled...





	1. The Origin of Black Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> 'Black Mirror' is the name of a once popular computer game and I've always loved the design of its castle, so I decided to write a story about it.  
> Apart from the setting as well as some parts of this prologue, this story has nothing to do with the game as I have never played it beyond the introduction scene.
> 
> This story is my way of fighting against my writer's block and find back to creative writing, so please if you like this story, let me know in the comments.  
> I should perhaps add that this is mostly a mystery story, so the romance part will have to take a backseat and only be minor. At least that's the plan, we will see how long it takes until I change my mind.
> 
> This is only a prologue set in the 18th century that will show the first mysterious death that occured in the castle, the other chapters will be set in the present time with some flashbacks. I'm currently aiming for a total of ten chapters.  
> Dear Blue_Night, I don't know if you will be reading this, but I hope you won't mind that I borrowed 'your' Mathilda for this story. I just wanted to have her in it and the setting suited her character perfectly. :)
> 
> Below there is a picture of Black Mirror where this prologue takes place.

 

 

**The Secret of Black Mirror**

 

 

 

 

**Chapter 1:**

**The Origin of Black Mirror**

 

_29th February 1716_

 

Rain was pelting onto the roof of the castle unrelentingly. The storm had started last evening as soon as the sun had gone down and now the lightning of thunder occasionally illuminated the otherwise dark night.

Mario Gómez had been sitting at the desk of his office in the highest tower for many hours, his head in his hands and trembling with fear. It couldn’t be coincidence that the worst storm of the last few years had come unannounced today of all days. Something truly horrible was bound to happen. Well, apart from the horrible incidence that had already happened earlier tonight…

Mario’s body was wrecked by cold shivers despite the warm flames crackling in the fireplace and the many candles he had lit in the room as he was unable to keep the memory from rising back to the surface; a memory full of pain and violence.

There was no use in fighting it, not when everything in the room reminded him of it. The loud thump of the door as it had fallen shut behind him and the other man, the sound of the key being turned and locking the rest of the world out. 

A lot of talking, shouting and begging, the deafening sound of a cheek being hit. The tearing of fabric as clothes had been ripped apart. They had been on the ground then and when Mario had raised his head, he had been able to see himself and the other man in the large mirror. Mario had been crying, but he had managed to keep his sobs inside. To keep himself in control for a few torturous long minutes until his orgasm – the worst of his entire life - finally washed away the feel of the younger man. They both lay on the dark red carpet for a few moments longer, both of them unable to process what had just happened, what sinister twist their fight had just taken. And the moment their eyes had met again, Mario's control had snapped. He had reached out for the iron poker at the fireplace and had hit the younger man. Had hit him as hard as he could with tears burning in his eyes until the bruised and battered body had stopped trashing and there had been a rapidly growing pile of blood underneath it.

Mario had killed him. He had become a sinner as well, not better than the dead man lying to his feet.

It had been two hours since that terrible incident and Mario was still sitting on his desk, just a few inches away from the corpse. He was still naked, the shreds of his clothes lying scattered on the floor. 

The shock had worn off, but that only made it worse as he kept replaying every detail in his mind. He kept telling himself that the other man had deserved this, deserved to be brutally slaughtered like this for the sin he had committed. 

For desiring another man and daring to take what he had wanted without permission.

Under different circumstances Mario might have been inclined to start an affair with the attractive male, he was not opposed to being with another man.

But tonight's actions had destroyed that possibility for good. They had destroyed every kind of sympathy Mario had ever had for the other man.

His eyes inevitably returned to the body on the ground and another shiver of fear wrecked him. Why couldn't he just shove this feeling away? The man was dead now and there was nothing Mario had to be afraid of. But he still couldn't squish the rising panic inside of him as he stared down at the crippled body, at all the dark red blood that stood in stark contrast to the deathly pale skin of his naked body. He looked even more otherworldly than he had done during his lifetime, so strangely  _alive_ despite the blood and the many bruises Mario had inflicted on his body.

Suddenly there was a knock on his door and Mario jumped in surprise.

“Mario, are you still up here?” the familiar voice of his lover asked worriedly. “I could see light from outside. It's in the middle of the night, we should go to bed now, don't you think?”

“Of course,” Mario replied and he tried hard to keep his voice from shaking too badly. “I'll just finish writing this paragraph, then I will come downstairs.”

“Mario, are you alright? You sound strange.”

Of course his lover had noticed. “I'm fine, just a bit tired and exhausted from all the work,” Mario lied instantly. “Just wait for me in our bedroom, I'll be with you in a few minutes.”

He closed his eyes in relief upon hearing footsteps and the person at the other side of the door retreating. Still, he waited for another two minutes and only when he couldn't hear any sound besides the howling of the wind outside, did he finally stand up.

He needed to get rid of the body. No one would understand, they would only see him as a murderer. They would be too foolish and naive to believe that he had had no other choice and that he had actually done them a favour by killing that monster.

No, they would turn this around and make Mario the bad guy. 

He let his eyes wander through the room aimlessly. Very briefly he considered hiding the body in one of the wardrobes, but quickly dismissed it. His maid Mathilda might find it when she would be cleaning the room the next morning.

No, there had to be something else.

His eyes dropped to the fireplace and a small part of him wondered why it hadn't burnt already. He hadn't put another log on the fire ever since he had entered the room, the fire had already been burning when he had set foot through the door more than two hours ago.

But he didn't care about the why, instead he thanked God for this perfect opportunity. He stepped towards the body as tried hard not to look too closely what exactly he was doing when he put his arms around the torso and started to drag him through the room. 

Whoever had said a dead man was a light weight had definitely been lying. Mario was sweating by the time he had managed to push the body into the blazing flames, but finally he could calm his breathing again as he watched the fire hungrily licking over the naked skin. Still, it almost looked like the body was squirming slightly, but that was most likely just Mario's imagination and so he turned away, walking towards the window of the tower. He leaned his forehead against the cold glass and tried to take deep breaths. 

Nobody would have to know about what had happened tonight. Mario would keep it a secret and eventually it would fade to a memory.

He had just managed to calm his rapid heartbeat when all of a sudden a strange sound reached his ears. The sound of silence.

Mario straightened, wondering what was going on when he realized that it was so silent because the wind had faded completely – how could wind just vanish like that? - and it had stopped raining.

Mario frowned before turning around and he froze instantly. 

The ashes in the fireplace were moving, circling the burnt body lying in it like a sandstorm in the desert. Mario was convinced he was just hallucinating again when the corpse started moving.

It climbed out of the large fireplace and then it stood up, the ashes mending themselves with the burnt flesh and restoring it.

“What the hell?” Mario croaked out in horror as the man he had just killed and then burnt, stood here before him still naked but his skin unflawed.

“You killed me,” the younger man stated with unhidden contempt, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “I will make you pay, Mario Gómez. You and your bloodline will be doomed to die a cruel death until I have found my peace.”

Mario didn't get to respond anymore when the man surged forward and collided hard with Mario's body. There was the loud crash of glass shattering behind them as they hit the window behind him and Mario had barely time to feel the throbbing of his head when they were already falling. 

It was a moment where time seemed frozen as they fell from the biggest tower of the castle. Then the silence was broken by a flash of lightning and suddenly the whole world disappeared in darkness...

 


	2. Welcome to Willowdale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I loved writing this introduction of our two main characters. Thomas' character reminded me a lot of the one in LtROI's first few chapters, carefree and easygoing. Good to know that I can still write him that way after the emotional drama I usually put him through. ;)

**Chapter 2:**

**A Case to Solve**

 

_7_ _th_ _March 2016_

 

Usually it was Manuel who was reading the newspaper during breakfast, but the tall blond had been absentmindedly chewing on his slice of bread with Nutella for the past ten minutes and so it was his partner Thomas who was currently skimming the pages to keep them updated about the world. 

“I can't believe you read this crap every morning,” Thomas announced, hoping to draw his friend's attention. “I can feel my poor brain cells dying from all this stupendous nonsense.”

“It's not nonsense,” Manuel argued half-heartedly. “It's not my fault that you are not interested in politics.”

Thomas snorted before folding the newspaper and throwing it onto the table carelessly which earned him a disapproving glare from the other man. Then he got up and walked over to carry their plates and cups to the sink.

“Hey, I wasn't even finished,” Manuel complained which Thomas ignored. The younger man started rinsing the dishes in the water, trying to sound casual as he posed the question he had wanted to ask ever since getting out of bed. “Manu, can't we take a little case again? It's been over a week since I've done something useful and I'm so bored now.”

He was aware that he sounded like a five year old boy, not like the 27 years old man he was, but the best way to get something from Manuel was to annoy him. However Manuel didn't get angry, he merely looked at him insecurely.

“Actually I may have found a big case for us or rather the big case has found me.”

Thomas dropped the plate he had been cleaning back into the sink, his boredom gone in an instant. “And you're only telling me now? Come on, let's hear it.”

“It's not that easy,” Manuel told him with a troubled expression. “I got a call from Mr Ancelotti, the current chief inspector supervising the infamous Black Mirror case. Ever heard of it?”

Thomas' eyes widened and he felt that tingling in his belly that he always got when they were on to a promising case; one that was about more than just money or spying on cheating partners.  
“Of course I have heard of Black Mirror, who hasn't? No other castle in England has had so many mysterious death cases in the last three hundred years.”

“Most of them were later labelled as suicides,” Manuel remarked, but it was clear that he didn't really believe that.

“Well, either people go completely crazy in that old castle or there's more to the story than we know.”

“Of course there is more and that is what scares me,” Manuel responded. “Mr Ancelotti has approached me because of the newest death from three days ago.”

“Yeah, it was the headline of every newspaper and every TV report. The first death at Black Mirror in the last twenty years.”

“I have told Mr Ancelotti that we would think about it and give him our answer this evening.”

Thomas gave the blond a surprised look. “You haven't taken on the case yet? Why? This could be one of the greatest cases of our entire careers.”

“I know,” Manuel said with a sigh. “I just don't have a good feeling about it. The police have been tapping in the dark for decades, so how could we make a difference there?”

Thomas couldn't believe what he was hearing. He sat down next to Manuel and gripped his hand tightly. “Manu, we're talking about Black Mirror here. I've wanted to visit this castle ever since I was a little boy but you know how its owners are. Private property and all that blah blah.” He leaned closer until he could be sure that the sudden proximity was making Manuel uncomfortable. “This will be my only chance to fulfil my childhood dream. Could you really live with ruining that chance?”

Manuel looked at him for a moment longer, but then he gave in with a sigh. “No, of course not. I will call Mr Ancelotti and let him know about our decision. I suggest you should go packing then, we will be driving to Black Mirror.”

Thomas jumped up from his chair and he briefly hugged Manuel tightly. “Yes! I love you!” Then he hurried out of the room faster than Manuel could blink.

“Hey, I thought you wanted to do the dishes?” Manuel called after him, but the younger man was already out of earshot.

 

***

 

Twenty-four hours later Thomas and Manuel were already on their way to Black Mirror. They had been driving for almost three hours now and Thomas was staring out of the window absentmindedly. The sky was grey and rain was beating against the window of Manuel's car as they drove on a narrow road alongside the west coast.

“I hope they have a decent lodging in that village,” Thomas mused to finally break the silence that had settled between them in the last half an hour.

“I have checked it out last evening,” Manuel replied which didn't surprise Thomas at all. The older man was not known as the thorough researcher for nothing. “Willowdale is a drowsy village, so there are no hotels obviously. But it has a rather cosy looking bed and breakfast, I’m sure that will do fine.”

Thomas hummed in agreement and only a few minutes later they finally left the coast behind and reached their destination.

Willowdale was indeed a rather small village which couldn’t have more than five hundred inhabitants. The houses on the side of the street looked like they were ancient, their weather-beaten fronts not making exactly a friendly appearance. But in a way the atmosphere here suited the village next to a mysterious castle such as Black Mirror was.

Manuel parked the car in front of the bed and breakfast he had mentioned and Thomas followed him wordlessly. The elderly man at the reception desk was giving them curious glances when he was handing over the keys to their room, apparently he didn’t have that many guests here.

The answer came when he started speaking. “You must be the guys Jürgen mentioned. The ones helping the police with the latest murder case at Black Mirror.”

Manuel and Thomas looked at each other in surprise before the former nodded. “Yes, that’s right. How could you tell?”

“Most guests we get at this time of the year are either journalists who start scribbling down notes or taking pictures the moment they walk through the door. Or nerds who believe in the paranormal and wear all kinds of religious symbols to keep the ghosts away. You two don’t look like either of them.”

Thomas actually had to laugh at that. “Don’t worry, we don’t believe in ghosts.”

“Perhaps you will one day,” the man retorted calmly, sounding like he had given that advice many times in his years. “There have been a lot of strange accidents in that castle. Things that can’t be explained.”

Before Thomas could respond, Manuel grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the door. “Please excuse us, sir, we have a rather tight schedule and if we don’t hurry up, we will be late for our next appointment.”

Thomas gave the man an apologetic look while letting himself be pulled out of the door again. They got their bags from their car and then headed upstairs to their room.

It was a rather dark and small room for two tall men like them, but Thomas certainly wouldn’t complain. The simple, dark furniture definitely had its charms and to be honest Thomas was too excited about finally getting to visit the secluded castle a few miles away to care about vanities like this.

Manuel had already started unpacking while Thomas threw himself onto his bed under the window, stretching out on the soft mattress with a satisfied sigh. “Black Mirror. I can’t believe we are finally here.” He sat back up and looked over to his friend. “Can you believe that we will be one of the few normal people who will get to see the castle from the inside?”

Manuel merely chuckled at his barely contained excitement, but that didn’t stop Thomas from musing further. “Do you think there is a reason why only the servants and members of the lord’s family get to have a peak into the castle?”

“Yes, I think I know the reason,” Manuel responded and Thomas looked at him surprised. Until Manuel added, “Privacy, Thomas. Some people including myself like that concept. Or would you want strangers to come into your house and inspect every little corner? I don’t think so.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “You are no fun, Manu. I meant, do you think we are on to something really big?”

Manuel raised an eyebrow mockingly. “Like what? A three hundred year old serial killer?”

Thomas grabbed the pillow beside him and threw it after the blond as hard as he could, but Manuel caught it with annoying ease.  
“Ha ha, very funny. Actually I was thinking of something like a family secret. Maybe the Lord of Black Mirror is actually a murderer and that’s why the killings are starting again?”

“I won’t grace that ridiculous thought with an answer,” Manuel responded dryly. “Now stop constructing childish theories and unpack your bag. We are supposed to meet Mr Ancelotti as well as the local police inspector Mr Klopp in the café opposite the street in half an hour.”

“In a café?” Thomas repeated dumbfounded. “Where everybody can hear us? Have they ever heard of professionalism?”

Manuel shrugged. “We’re in a village that basically consists of one street. News get about fast here and I’m sure it doesn’t matter if we meet up with them in that café or at the police station.”

That point probably went to Manuel.

Thomas finally started unpacking – well, he tried to but he wasn’t in the mood to put his clothes into the wardrobe or the drawer, that was way too exhausting.

So he gave up after two minutes and followed an amused Manuel out of the room and down the stairs. The blond handed his keys to the receptionist before walking out of this house and crossing the street.

Thomas looked around curiously, taking in the long bumpy road and the houses neatly lined up at both sides and he begrudgingly had to admit that Manuel was once again right. Willowdale really had just this one main road, that was it.

The people living here probably had to drive to the next town whenever they had to do grocery shopping or the need to see a doctor. It reminded Thomas of his childhood when he had been living in a rural area as well and he couldn’t help but smile at being reminded of that time.

He followed Manuel to the small café at the other side of the street, one of the more welcoming looking buildings with a glass front.

When they entered, they were almost all alone except for an elderly, well-built man sitting by the window and stirring his coffee absentmindedly as well as a waiter in his mid-thirties cleaning the counter.

The latter greeted them with a polite smile that Thomas returned, wondering why such a good-looking guy was wasting his time as a waiter in such an abandoned village. That guy could as well be a model with his lean body, a perfectly chiselled face along with the stubble and worst of it all, soft hazel eyes.

“Can I help you, sir?” the waiter asked Thomas with that beautiful smile widening and the younger man was already contemplating if he should ask Mr. Perfect out or if that was too bold of a move when Manuel grabbed his arm impatiently.  
“Thomas, no flirting, we’re here to solve a case!”

Thomas wanted to protest, but the words died on his tongue when Mr Perfect followed them to the table Manuel was heading for. The one where the only other guest was sitting.

Manuel extended his hand which the other man accepted after he had stood up.

“Mr Ancelotti, it’s great to finally meet you in person.”

Thomas’ eyes widened as he realized that this man was their current client – a chief inspector even – and Thomas must have left such a great, professional first impression with his flirting. Wonderful, just wonderful.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Mr Ancelotti responded before shaking Thomas’ hand as well. “You are Mr. Müller, I suppose?”

“Guilty as charged,” Thomas responded instantly.

They sat down then and the waiter came to their table, shooting Mr Ancelotti a smile that indicated they knew each other quite well before turning to Manuel.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Just a coffee, please,” Manuel said before returning his attention to their client.

The waiter’s gaze shifted to Thomas then. Was it just his imagination or did they sparkle with mischief? “And for you?”

Thomas hesitated for a moment, but he just couldn’t resist testing the water. It had been way too long since he had last got laid and this guy was just too good-looking not to try his luck. “For me a cappuccino please. With extra foam, no sugar. Do you also offer desserts?”

The guy smirked knowingly. “Actually we do. I can bring you the dessert menu if you like?”

That didn’t sound like a rejection. “That would be great.”

Mr. Perfect left then and Thomas couldn’t help but look after him longingly. This man would for sure be the most handsome one night stand he had ever had. Totally out of his league, but oh well, one could hope.

Manuel coughed loudly and Thomas returned his attention to Mr. Ancelotti sitting opposite them who looked completely unfazed by Thomas' blatant flirting. Instead the older man placed a thick folder onto the table. “Here are copies of all recorded death cases at Black Mirror. You can read them in detail later and if you have any questions, I recommend that you talk to the local inspector Jürgen Klopp.”

He pointedly looked over to the entrance and the two detectives turned just in time to see another man with dark blond hair and a grey striped beard entering.

He waved to the waiter before walking over to them with a grim smile. “The usual for me, Xabi.” Without waiting for a response, he sat down on the only free chair left at their table, eyeing the two younger men challengingly before looking to Mr Ancelotti. “Carlo.”

“Jürgen,” was the calm answer he received. “These are the two detectives I told you about. I was just about to explain the newest case to them but now that you are here, you might as well fill them in personally.”

Mr Klopp snorted annoyed yet he did as he was told, prompting Thomas to assume that the two older men simply didn't like each other that much.

“Nothing extraordinary has happened in the castle for the last ten years. But four days ago one of the Gómez family members has been found dead in the lake belonging to Black Mirror.”

He opened the folder and  pointed  to the picture on the very first page, displaying the water corpse of a young man, his skin ghostly white and looking macerated. Thomas swallowed hard. He might be used to seeing dead bodies on a regular basis, but it still got to him every time.

Manuel studied the picture for a moment. “The corpse has started to decompose already. How long was he in the water? Two weeks?”

Mr Klopp nodded. “Yes, sixteen to seventeen days according to the forensics.”

“Who exactly was he?”

“His name was Rafael Alcántara, the grand cousin of Black Mirror's current owner. 23 years old and very popular with people. Well, as much as one can be popular when they are related to the Gómez family.”

Thomas frowned at that statement, but didn't comment on it. He shot the waiter – Xabi – a friendly smile when the other man placed his cup of cappuccino and the dessert menu in front of him. To his surprise Xabi didn't walk away, instead he stared at the picture with a mournful expression before addressing Mr. Klopp.

“Are there any news as to what exactly happened to Rafa?”

Mr Klopp sighed. “No, not yet. How is Thiago doing?”

Xabi shrugged and he looked even sadder now. “Still trying to cope. Obviously it will take a long time until he gets over it.”

“Who is Thiago?” Manuel asked confused.

“Rafa's older brother. He works here with me.”

Thomas felt sympathy welling up inside of him. “That's horrible. I can't imagine how I would feel if I found out that my brother has died from one day to the next.”

Xabi's expression softened when he met Thomas' eyes. “Yeah, me neither.”

He left them alone then and for the next half an hour Thomas and Manuel were intently listening to the reports of the two older men who took turns in explaining the sparse details of the case to them.

Thomas was so immersed in the conversation that he only noticed the number neatly written onto his receipt when they all stood up from their chairs. The two police men were already on their way out when Thomas read the number and the few words underneath.

_In case you still want dessert tonight. - Xabi_

Thomas looked up and he found said man eyeing him carefully from behind the corner, winking at him before returning his attention to the glass he was currently drying off.

Thomas' lips widened into a goofy smile and he clutched the piece of a paper in his hand like a trophy while passing Manuel. “Maybe Willowdale isn't as boring as I thought.”

He ignored Manuel loudly complaining about Thomas' lack of professionalism, his thoughts already racing ahead to his date for tonight. Seemed like his dry spell regarding sex would be over in a few hours. “Don't pull a face, Manu. I finally have some good sex to look forward to, we have an interesting case and we're spending the next few nights in the shadow of a spooky castle. It can't get any better than this.”

Manuel snorted amusedly. “Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with you.”

But he followed Thomas back to their car without further protest.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I spent more time on researching and looking at pictures of water corpses in various stages of decay than what is appropriate. A very fascinating topic, but I earned worried glances from the people looking at my laptop... :D


	3. The Stories That We Tell...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so terribly sorry that it took me such a long time to update this story. It's not that I haven't lost interest, I just have too many ideas these days and even worse too little time to write them down.  
> But I finally had a few days to get back to this story and I hope you will enjoy this new chapter. :)

 

**  
Chapter 3:**

**The Stories That We Tell**

 

_29_ _th_ _August 1716_

 

It was a warm summer’s night when the young man sealed his letter and put it aside, knowing that one of the maids would find it in the morning.

He was wearing the soft black tunic that his lover had gifted him almost a year ago and he started walking to the stairs leading to the highest tower of the castle. Where his beloved had found his end many months ago. He swallowed around the lump in his throat and took one stair after the other, his longing that had been with him ever since that day finally getting replaced by the tingling of anticipation. He would be reunited with his lover and they would get to be together forever.

The walk seemed to take longer than usual and when he had finally reached the office, he took a look around. This place had been left untouched since the mysterious death of Mario Gómez, former Lord of Black Mirror.

The police had inspected it in the days after but except for him no one else had dared to come inside again, whispers of a vengeful ghost making their rounds.

He shuddered at the strange feeling overcoming him and he walked closer to the shattered window, feeling dust and ash underneath his naked feet. There he turned around, taking in the chaotic state of the room before his eyes settled on the large mirror next to him. He had never spared it a second look, at least not before the tragedy all these months ago. But ever since that he couldn't turn his eyes away from it. 

It was fascinating, a black frame almost twice his height and adorned with golden lines that seemed to flicker in the moonlight. There was a dark beauty about it and carefully he reacheed out until his fingers touched the cold glass. Goosebumps spread on his skin and he started to shiver, a feeling he had become used to by now. He had never had the courage to listen to the soft whisper in the air, always running away from it before. But it had been so many months since the death of his lover and he was tired of running away.

“What do I need to do?” he asked into the mirror, wondering if the pale face that was staring back at him was really his own or just the strange lighting of the moonlight. “What do I need to do to be with you?”

For a long moment nothing happened but suddenly he could see the reflection of another face in the mirror. A man slightly taller than him with dark hair, his eyes looking so unfamiliar hollow and cold. 

A moment later he felt a familiar body pressing against his back, but he didn't dare to turn around, fearing that he would disappear again. “Are you sure that this is what you want, love? You still have your whole life to live.”

“You are my life,” the young man argued and he finally turned around, but there was no one there. Though he could still feel his lover's body pressed against his own and so he closed his eyes, trusting his other senses. “You are my love and I will gladly give my life to be with you.”

He felt warm breath ghosting along his jaw right before arms came around him. “No one will understand our love.”

He shook his head, pressing his eyes tightly together. “I don't care. It's just you and me.”

“Just you and me,” his dead lover repeated in awe. “Thank you, love. Thank you for loving me beyond death.”

“Our love was always just a dream. A dream without a future, at least in this world we are living in. Maybe death will free us. Maybe someday our dream will get to live.”

Their lips finally met, the kiss of two reunited lovers, full of longing and passion.

“Take me with you,” he whispered against his lover's lips.

“I will,” came the instant response. “But I will need you to free me from the mirror. It has seen everything, my shame while I was getting raped as well as the violence of my death. My soul is bound to this mirror and I will need you to free me, to unleash me when the time is right.”

He nodded even though rage was filling him as he heard what he suspected all along. That his lover, the young Lord of Black Mirror had been raped by a man that had once been close to him, for whom he would have once given his life.

“I will do whatever it takes. For you.”

“For us,” his lover corrected him with tenderness. “Open your eyes.”

He did only to find the room illuminated by the flames suddenly burning in the fireplace. He frowned in confusion until he heard his lover's voice again. “Bind your soul to the fire, love. This way it will never get tamed and you will always be able to free me.”

He stared at the flames for a long moment before a smile spread on his face and he approached it with confident steps.

He would finally get to be with his lover again.

He was still smiling when he reached out for the fire in front of him...

 

***

 

The sound of loud screaming awoke Crestienne. She felt disorientated for a moment and her hand instinctively wandered down to her belly, protecting the growing life inside of her.

A moment later her maid Mathilda burst into the room, wearing her long nightgown and looking shocked. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Mylady, but we need to get out of these walls as soon as possible.”

Crestienne frowned though she obeyed instantly and put on a thin jacket as she got up from the bed. “Please, Mathilda, tell me what is happening?”

The housemaid swallowed hard and she only replied when she had dragged the pregnant women down the stairs and into the long corridor leading outside. 

“It is your cousin, Mylady.”

Crestienne paled and she stopped dead in her tracks, one hand resting on her belly again. “My cousin? What about him?”

“I saw him set himself on fire in the tower.”

Crestienne was too shocked to respond and didn’t put up much of a fight while her maid was pulling her outside. The Lordship and the staff of the castle were already waiting outside and she craned her head to find her five year old son among the crowd. The little boy was sitting on the arm of one of the servants, looking scared and confused and instantly Crestienne turned her head, hoping to find the blond head of her cousin somewhere, but there was no sight of him.

She closed her eyes, unable to keep her sob inside. “No, please.”

But she could still hear the hungry licking of flames, the blazing of destructive fire and when she finally opened her eyes again and looked behind her, she could see it burning in the highest tower of the castle.

The place where she had already lost her husband six months ago.

And where she had now also lost her cousin Marco…

 

_9_ _th_ _March 2016_

 

Thomas eventually awoke to the tickling of the warm rays of sunshine on his skin. It took him a moment to adjust to the brightness of a room he had never really seen before. Well, at least not in the light of day.

Last night he had been much too occupied with other things to take in much of his surroundings and with a smile he turned around to find his date of yesterday still sound asleep beside him.

The evening with Xabi had been just as lovely as Thomas had expected and he had found himself eagerly listening to the older man’s sophisticated thoughts. Thomas really loved to spend a night with a good-looking guy, but good-looking as well as intelligent? Jackpot!

Thomas sat up, watching the way Xabi’s slightly ruffled hair was shining bronze in the morning sun and he leaned forward to place a soft kiss on the older man’s cheek. And then a second because he just couldn’t help himself.

He felt Xabi stirring slightly as he surrendered to that sudden impulse, placing kiss after kiss along the chiselled jawbone until eventually those eyes flew open.

He stilled then, waiting for the other man’s reaction. It wouldn’t be the first time that one of his flings didn’t like Thomas being so affectionate the morning after. But Xabi only smiled sleepily. “Good morning, Thomas.”

“Morning, sunshine,” Thomas responded in his best honeysweet voice and with a grin he leaned forward to kiss Xabi’s lips. 

He rolled on top of the other man and deepened their kiss, the last bit of fatigue leaving his body when their naked fronts were touching again. He was sliding his tongue into Xabi’s mouth, their lazy kiss turning more heated and slowly his hand wandered down Xabi’s side to where he could feel-

The sound of the door crashing open interrupted him.

“Xabi, have you seen my blue…”

Thomas broke away from the kiss, barely noticing Xabi’s amused snicker when he found a young man only halfway dressed standing in the doorway and staring at them with big eyes, gaping like a fish at the two naked men on the bed.

“Thomas, may I introduce my colleague and flatmate Thiago?”

Thomas smiled at the man called Thiago. “Nice to meet you.”

Thiago blinked twice before eventually managing to meet Thomas’ eyes, his face turning red in embarrassment. “Sorry, I should have knocked first. Ignore me, I’ll just leave while you two go back to doing… whatever it was that you were doing.”

“Each other,” Thomas supplied helpfully and underneath him Xabi broke out into laughter while Thiago quickly fled the room.

“Thomas, you scarred him for life, you know?” Xabi informed him still grinning. “He sees me like an older brother and I’m convinced that he believes I don’t have any sex life at all.”

Thomas looked down at him disbelievingly. “With such a handsome face as yours? Is he blind?” Instead of waiting for answer, he went back to kissing Xabi and unsurprisingly it took a rather long time until they made it out of the room and eventually downstairs where somebody – most likely Thiago – had already set up the table for them.

When they had eventually sat down each with a cup of steaming hot coffee in his hands, Thomas finally dared to ask about Thiago, something he had wanted to do ever since yesterday.

“Your flatmate seems like a nice guy. Since when have you two known each other?”

“Since we were six years old. We both attended the private school in Bradford and I mentored him throughout his first year there. That’s how we became friends, but it wasn’t until I moved into this town ten years ago that we really got so close and then became flatmates.”

The news took Thomas by surprise. “You were not born here? What made you move into such a small and secluded town like this one? With education in private school you could surely have got a better job than waiter in a little café.”

He hoped Xabi wouldn’t take that question as an insult, he was merely curious after all. But the older man only shrugged. “I had a few other more lucrative jobs before I moved here, but I have always been a guy who prefers peacefulness and solitude.”

For some reason Thomas had the feeling that there was more to this story than what met the eye. “And that is the reason you moved here of all places?”

“No,” Xabi responded after a moment, absentmindedly stirring the spoon in his coffee. “That wasn’t the reason, at least not the only one.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Thomas offered when he realized how hesitant Xabi was to continue. “We don’t know each other after all.”

Xabi smiled softly. “No, it’s alright, I want us to get to know each other better after all. The reason why I moved here was a man.”

“Your boyfriend?” Thomas asked, a part of him wondering what had happened to that guy.

Xabi answered his unspoken question right after. “His name was Steven. I was madly in love with him and convinced that we were meant to be together, the perfect couple. But as it turned out we were just too different in the end and so we broke it off five years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Thomas said and he really meant it.

Xabi shrugged though he looked bitter now. “I still love him, but I’ve made my peace with the fact that we are over for good.”

They continued sipping at their coffee mugs for a few minutes before Xabi moved the conversation to lighter things. “I assume you and your partner will visit Black Mirror today?”

Thomas nodded, anticipation filling him at the mere thought of finally stepping foot into this mysterious castle. “Yes, we will. We have to talk with the staff there, especially the person who found Rafa.” After a short moment of hesitation he added, “Manu is probably waiting for me, I should leave now.”

His reluctance must be showing on his face because the corners of Xabi’s mouth quirked upwards in amusement. “What a pity. But in case you get bored in those old walls, this door is always open for you.”

“Thank you,” Thomas responded, feeling touched by the offer.

They chattered for a while longer until Manuel’s incoming messages on Thomas’ phone became too threatening to ignore for much longer.

 

***

 

Manuel was still pointedly ignoring him one hour later.

The blond was leaning against his car with crossed arms while Thomas was pacing up and down impatiently. Behind them was the large gate leading to Black Mirror and it took the younger man a lot of effort to stay here while they were waiting for Mr Klopp. Thomas had always been fascinated by the myths people told about this castle, but he had never thought that he would actually get to see it from the inside. Between the bars of the old gate he had a wonderful view at the estate. “It looks so gothic and out of time, don't you think?” he whispered to Manuel, but didn't get a response. Not that he had expected one.

He started walking along the stone wall and hesitantly raised his hand to touch the cold surface, confirming that he wasn't dreaming. After a few more steps, his eyes landed on a small chapel at the edge of the forest. Thomas had read about it and therefore he knew that it belonged to the castle as well, the only part that was open to the public. There hadn't been any regular services in this chapel for decades, but the lord's family had a crypt underneath it and therefore the chapel still acted as a funerary church these days.

Curiously Thomas approached it, but the closer he got the more anxious he became. There was something threatening about this place, something that was not quite right though he couldn't for the life of him understand why he was feeling this way. When he had reached the chapel, Thomas stopped dead in his tracks. He wanted to see the church from the inside, but he couldn't make another step forward. He was glued to the spot, his curiosity at war with this inexplicable fear for what must have been several minutes until suddenly goose bumps appeared on his skin and he felt like he was being watched. He turned his head to the left where the castle was visible in the distance and that's when he saw that he was not alone any longer.

A young man with light brown hair, perhaps a few years younger than him was standing a few feet away from him and watching him with a wary look in his hazel eyes.

Thomas met his gaze for a long moment, watching wariness very slowly getting replaced by confusion. Then the man stepped closer, reaching out with his hand as though he wanted to touch Thomas' face. He caught himself just in time and drew his hand back as though he has been burnt.

“Who are you?” the stranger asked disbelievingly.

Thomas frowned, wondering what he did to justify the more than visible distrust that was directed at him. “My name is Thomas Müller.”

The young man shook his head. “No, I mean what are you?”

Alright, this was getting even more confusing now. “I'm a private detective.”

His answer didn’t seem to satisfy the man though who just kept looking at Thomas as though he expected more to come. Just when Thomas had opened his mouth to ask him about it, he heard a familiar voice calling for him in the distance and he remembered about Mr Klopp. “Damn, this is my friend Manu. I should let him know that I haven't been kidnapped by wolves.” He extended his hand with a friendly smile. “Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Mr...?”

The man stared at Thomas' hand as though it was a snake before he eventually managed to meet the latter's gaze. Hesitantly he grabbed the offered hand and his eyes widened before he added in a voice full of wonder and fear. “Erik. My name is Erik.”

“Erik,” Thomas repeated, trying out the sound of the name. “Suits you, I guess. I hope we will see each other again, Erik.”

Erik didn't respond and with one last wave of his hand Thomas turned around and jogged back to their car. There he found Mr Klopp and Manuel waiting for him.

“Where were you?” the latter asked in a chiding tone, apparently having forgotten that he had wanted to ignore Thomas for a while longer.

“Hold your horses, Manu, I was just taking a look around and ran into that Erik guy.”

Manuel looked confused. “What guy?”

Thomas rolled his eyes and turned back to the chapel, but Erik was already gone. He swallowed down his disappointment and shrugged nonchalantly. “Never mind.” Then he walked over to Mr Klopp who was patiently waiting for them at the gate. “Come on, Manu, it's time we finally set foot into the castle of Black Mirror.”

 


	4. The Ties That Bind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear Blue_Night,  
> You were asking for an update and I was so happy and pleased about that, that i could not resist writing it. And since I got stuck with the Müllendowski oneshot I'm currently working on, this update was my top priority. I went back to change the tense from present to past tense in the previous chapters like I did with 'Holding On To Hope' before sitting down to make the detailed adjustments of Mario Gómez' bloodline. We will go into more detail of it as Manu and Thomas find out about it, but if anyone wants to ask me questions nevertheless, I'm here. :-)

 

 

**Chapter 4:**

**The Ties That Bind**

 

Manuel had sat down in one of the large brown armchairs in the entrance hall while they were waiting for the Lord of Black Mirror to see them. Thomas on the other hand could barely contain his excitement and he was standing in front of the large glass windows to stare over the garden and to the gate where Manuel had parked his car. The butler that had greeted them at the door returned to place a tray on the table. “Mylord will be here in a few minutes, he asked me to make you some tea while you are waiting for him.”

Manuel leaned forward to take the cup that the young man was offering him. “Thank you. You must be Philipp, right?”

The man nodded silently, though his eyes betrayed his curiosity about Manuel knowing his name. The blond smiled warmly. “According to the police report the castle’s butler Philipp Lahm found the corpse in the lake five days ago, so I figured it might have been you.”

Philipp nodded, his eyes filling with regret. “You are quite right. I was on my way to the greenhouse that morning and when I was passing by the lake, I noticed Rafael’s body floating right under the surface.”

Thomas stepped closer. “But he must have been dead for at least two weeks. Why has no one found him sooner?”

Philipp shrugged. “Honestly I have no idea. But there aren’t many people who pass by the lake regularly, so it’s not that surprising actually that no one has found the young lord.”

“The young lord?” Thomas repeated confused. “I thought your boss had no children or siblings.”

Philipp gave him a long look, his face blank but his voice sounding angered by Thomas’ assumption. “My _master_ might not be married or have siblings, but the Goméz family is an old one and there are many living relatives. And as you might have heard if you had done your homework, the two Alcántarra brothers belong to this family as well and had their ancestors not left this castle many years ago, Rafa would be the youngest lord here. He and his brother might have returned home only a few years ago, but we never forget family. Never.”

Thomas raised his hands in surrender after Philipp’s passionate speech, knowing that whatever he said would only make things worse. Manuel shot him a dark glance, presumably for upsetting the butler while the blond had been trying to get information out of him. He turned his attention back to the windows, noting that two men had appeared and were now starting to install small lamps along the way leading to the castle. “Who are they?”

Philipp joined his side. “These are Miroslav and Joshua, they belong to our staff. They keep the garden and the labyrinth at the back of the castle in shape.”

Thomas suppressed a smile at the mention of the labyrinth. Of course he had read about it in some books, but he longed to finally get a glimpse of it in person. “Why would they install lamps instead of something more fitting, I don’t know torches perhaps? Speaking of torches, why are there none in the corridor and this hall either? There is not even a single candle her. This whole electric light kind of destroys the atmosphere, don’t you think?”

Philipp looked at him with a wary expression, but he was saved from having to answer by the man suddenly standing at the top of the stairs leading to the private rooms of the castle. “You’re awfully curious, Mr. Müller.”

Thomas raised his eyes to look at him, recognizing the current Lord of Black Mirror from the pictures in the books and newspaper articles.

Jakub Błaszczykowski was striding down towards them with an elegance Thomas had not expected because of his broad frame and the strength radiating from the other man. He was wearing black trousers and a white button-down with rolled-up sleeves, his blond hair neatly combed to the side. His beard was a few shades darker, suiting the dominant vibes he was giving off. He came to stand beside Manuel, shaking his hand briefly before turning to Thomas.

The latter shook the offered hand instantly, feeling a jolt going through his body at the contact. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Błaszczykowski.”

The older man didn’t pull his hand back right away, instead tightening his grip around Thomas’, his dark blue eyes narrowing in a calculating manner. “Call me Jakub, please. I don’t like my guests addressing me that formally.” He raised his voice slightly. “Philipp, please prepare two guest rooms in the east wing for the detectives. And tell Helena she has two more rooms to clean for an indefinable amount of time.”

The small butler nodded and elegantly swept out of the room without another word. Thomas was completely taken aback and at a loss of words while Manuel stood up from the chair with a surprised expression. “That’s very kind of you, but we already have a room in the village, there is no need to worry about us.”

“I wasn’t worrying about you,” Jakub said with a strained voice. “The only reason I’m offering you to stay here is because I have a feeling that the two of you might be able to actually help solve this case, contrary to all the police officers that have tried to do that in the last three centuries.”

Manuel exchanged a helpless look with Thomas before replying, “Thank you then.”

Thomas however could not help but be suspicious despite his excitement at getting to sleep in this castle. “Why such a leap of trust? Your family has always been known to be very secretive and you never let random people stay in this castle.”

Jakub gave him a challenging look. “These old walls hold more secrets than you could ever hope to unravel, Thomas. And the reason for all the strange deaths might as well be one of them. I might not like anyone invading my privacy like that, but I know that you have a much better chance at solving this case when you will be staying here for a while.”

He finally let go of Thomas’ hand and sat down in the armchair opposite to Manuel. “So you want to ask me questions? Then shoot.”

Manuel straightened immediately. “Your butler Philipp was the first to find Rafael’s corpse and he called you immediately.” When Jakub had nodded, he added, “The police officers said you were interfering with the investigation. You refused to let them search the lake for clues regarding Rafael’s death and they had to arrest you and force you to spend the night in jail.”

Jakub didn’t look very regretful. “I was concerned about their safety, about everyone’s safety. I was afraid that whatever had killed Rafa, was still somewhere in the water.”

“So you don’t believe it was murder?” Manuel retorted.

Jakub rolled his bottom lip between his teeth, apparently thinking about his answer. “I didn’t say that. I just think that the police will not be able to solve this case. They haven’t done so in the last three centuries, why would that change now?”

Neither Manuel nor Thomas responded to that, knowing that this point couldn’t be argued. Thomas sat down on the arm rest of Manuel’s armchair, choosing to shift the approach of the topic. “There hasn’t been a death case at this castle in the last twenty years, the last one being your father.”  
Jakub stilled, a sad look entering his eyes. “That’s true. But if you look at all the deaths, it’s not unusual that there was such a long gap between the latest two deaths. My father died in 1996, my grandmother Meredith in 1955. That’s more than forty years in between.”

“I know,” Thomas replied calmly. “But considering how long the time gaps are, we can rule out murder in most cases. Most of the cases seemed to be either suicides or tragic accidents. Only that it’s hard to believe by now that there can be so many accidents. Rafael’s death is the eighteenth case since the first one in 1716.”

Jakub’s eyes narrowed again. “Is there any point to you telling me something that I already know?”

Thomas sighed, standing up to approach the man sitting opposite them. “Please, Jakub. You invited us to stay here because you have more faith in us than any of the police officers. If you trust us, then please give us something to work with. Remember that we are not the enemy, we want to help you.”

Jakub took a deep breath. “I just want this to end, okay? I already lost my father and my mother died a few years later because of her grief. I was the only one left, I thought whatever was going on in this castle would be over soon. And now Rafa is dead. I just want you to put an end to this before Thiago turns up dead too.”

The two detectives stayed silent for a while after that outburst and for the first time Thomas felt sympathy for the man in front of him. Jakub was not much older than he was himself, but the burden he had to carry was already threatening to break him like it had apparently broken his mother. “You think Thiago might be in danger as well?”

“You have read the files, right?” Jakub replied. “It’s always our family members that end up dead. And Thiago is young, I fear that he will be the next victim, should he ever set foot into this castle. That’s why his ancestors left. To escape the curse.”

Thomas exchanged another quick look with Manuel. “If you’re so convinced that Thiago might be next, then why don’t you tell him to move away from Willowdale?”

“I could,” Jakub replied. “But that wouldn’t solve the problem. All these killings they need to end and long as just one member of the Gómez bloodline is alive, then it will never be over. I know that now.”

Manuel shook his head. “There is no such thing as a family curse. I’m more inclined to believe that some people wanted your family to be dead, perhaps for greed of money or to get the castle themselves.”

Jakub gave him an almost pitiful look. “Believe what you want. I’m sure you will have changed your mind by the time you leave this castle for good.”

Before Manuel could respond, Thomas added, “I read the file yesterday, Jakub. You’re right, most of the deaths belonged to the Gómez family. Except for two. The second death involved the cousin of Lady Crestienne Gómez, the widow of the first victim. He was not a Gómez himself. And the other case was of an insignificant stable boy that had no relations to the family at all. If all these killings happened due to some kind of family curse, then what about them?”

Jakub gave him a long look. “I don’t know. I guess that’s what you are here to find out.”

The three men stayed silent then, each one of them lost in their own thoughts. If Thomas had not been a detective and was forced to see things rational, he would have perhaps thought the same as Jakub did. All deaths were definitely connected in some kind of way, with most of the victims being directly related. But how could this be? Did the Gómez family have enemies that had passed on their hatred for many generations? Or were the deaths truly unfortunate accidents?

“That’s all for now, Manuel said. “We will come back to you as soon as we have familiarized ourselves with the case in more detail.”

Jakub nodded. “As long as you don’t hinder my staff, you can do here as you please. It’s already lunch time and I guess you want to pack your stuff now. But you are welcome to join me for dinner at six if you would like to.”

“Thank you,” Manuel responded instantly. “We will be there.”

They watched Jakub stand up and head towards a small door to the left of the grand staircase, when Thomas suddenly remembered.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Thomas called after him, causing the blond to stop and turn back towards him. “About the candles and torches.”

A closed-off expression appeared on Jakub’s face. “Because I don’t like fire, that’s why.” He turned back to the door he had been heading for, stopping with his hand on the knob. “Oh and while you’re here, do me a favour and stay away from the west wing.”

Manuel frowned. “And why is that?”

But Jakub had already left.

 

***

 

Thomas and Manuel had already got their stuff, most of which hadn’t been unpacked anyway at least in Thomas’ case. Since the maid Helena wasn’t done yet with preparing their rooms, they had disposed their luggage in the entrance hall for now. Manuel had started a conversation with Philipp - who was much friendlier to them now that he knew Manuel and Thomas would be staying as their guests for a while – while Thomas had decided to take a quick walk outside. He had contemplated inspecting the lake already, but he had a feeling that Jakub wouldn’t be pleased if Thomas was sneaking around on his own like that, so instead he was now walking through the garden. He had quickly chatted a few words with Joshua and Miroslav who had made a very friendly impression on him before continuing on his way. And naturally he hadn’t been able to resist the mysterious labyrinth behind the castle…

Now he was standing at the west side of the castle, the large estate creating a dark shadow over everything in his sight. This part of the garden seemed wilder and less tamed than the rest, he realized as he watched his shoes sinking into the mire. The labyrinth’s hedges right in front of him seemed to be luring him in, but he ignored that urge. He could hear footsteps approaching from behind and when he turned, he could see Miroslav coming up towards him. “You should wait for sunnier days to check out the labyrinth. It’s a wonderful place to let thoughts drift, but not when it is raining. You wouldn’t be the first man to never return from it then.”

He winked playfully, but Thomas could indeed remember that one of the latest victims – a man called Nuri – had been found dead in the labyrinth after weeks of searching for him.

He turned his back to the hedges. “Sorry I’m just very curious by nature.”  
Miroslav only smiled knowingly before returning his attention to the small rosebush he was planting into the earth.

Thomas frowned as he looked at the various rosebushes, most of them so tall that they had climbed up the stony walls of the castle and framed the lowest windows. If he hadn’t known that Miroslav was the gardener of the castle, he wouldn’t have guessed that there even was one.

“Why do you allow these rose bushes to grow so big? Shouldn’t you cut them every once in a while?”

“Lord Jakub doesn’t let me,” Miroslav responded after a moment. “He said it’s a family tradition to plant a rosebush for each victim that has died a violent death at this castle. His ancestors believed that the death of a rosebush would signify a soul passing on into the afterlife.”

Thomas stared at the roses. “You mean to tell me that some of these plants are three hundred years old? I didn’t even know that they could become so old.”

Miroslav shrugged. “You’re right, usually they don’t. But trust me, Thomas, there are much stranger things happening in this castle than three hundred years old roses.”

Thomas didn’t respond to that, sensing that Miroslav was only telling the stories that he had heard himself. Carefully the younger man approached the three tallest rose bushes, the ones that were framing the window to the dining room. The one in the middle was brown and withered, looking more dead than alive. Had the soul tied to it truly passed on into the afterlife already? “This one here, for whose death was it planted?”

“The first one, Mario Gómez.”

Indeed when Thomas looked down to the roots, he could see a small granite plate on the ground.

 

_Mario Gómez  
Lord of Black Mirror_

_born 1685  
died 1716_

_In Loving Memory,  
Your wife Crestienne_

 

Thomas had crouched down to read the words and he felt a shiver running gown his spine. “This is the place that Mario died?”

Miroslav nodded and pointed into the sky. “Look up, then you see the tower of which he fell to death.”

Thomas obeyed, taking in the small tower at the roof of the castle. So this had been Mario’s office in the highest tower of the castle. The place where it had all started. He would have to ask Jakub about it during dinner, perhaps the older man would allow him to check out this room.

He returned his attention to the rosebushes, focusing on the left of Mario’s. It was a lot taller, adorned with dozens of healthy black roses. “Wow, these are beautiful. I thought black roses are so rare that one can barely afford them.”

Miroslav snorted. “I’m sure the Gómez family had enough money to afford them. This bush was planted for Crestienne’s cousin by the way.” And indeed Thomas could see a smaller plate on the ground.

 

_Marco Reus_

_born 1689  
died 1716_

_May your soul rest in peace, my dear cousin.  
\- Crestienne_

 

Thomas frowned.

So this was the man that didn’t quite fit in with the rest, the man who had died a violent death by his own hand but was not related to Mario by blood. How did he fit into this mystery?

Thomas shifted his gaze to the rosebush to Mario’s left, one that seemed like a mirror image of the Marco’s in height. But the roses were only starting to bloom, small black buds waiting for some much-needed sunlight. There was no plate on the ground though that would have explained for whom it had been planted. “And this one?”

Miroslav shrugged. “I’m not sure. But it was planted at the same time as Marco’s rose bush, therefore it is believed that Lady Crestienne planted two rose bushes for her beloved cousin.”

“Why would she do that for her cousin but not for her husband?” Thomas asked confused.

“I asked Lord Jakub the same thing,” Miroslav admitted with a small smile. “Apparently the marriage between Lord Mario and Lady Crestienne was arranged and both of them were unhappy with each other. That’s why Crestienne asked her cousin Marco to move into the castle, so she would have someone to talk to. They had been close since childhood and his presence brightened her life a bit. Jakub also said to me that perhaps she planted two bushes instead of one for Marco as a sign. Because her cousin might have died, but only three days later she gave life to a daughter. With Marco she had lost the last adult relative, but with her new-born daughter and her five years old son she still had a purpose to live. And as a symbol she planted one bush for each of her children as a farewell to Marco.”

They both fell silent after his explanation. Thomas’ eyes followed the twigs of the two black rose bushes that were intertwining above the window that had separated them, wondering why Crestienne had chosen black roses for Marco while every other bush had red ones. He barely noticed Miroslav leaving as he reached out for one of the large black roses closest to him. A jolt went through his body and suddenly Thomas felt like he was falling. When his vision returned, all roses were gone, except for a small bush right in front of him. Five red roses had bloomed on its twigs and Thomas railed back when he saw the familiar plate with Crestienne’s goodbye to her cousin. Why were they red now? And where had all the other bushes gone?

Thomas turned around helplessly only to freeze when he saw a young woman standing right behind him. “I’m sorry, Miss, I didn’t mean to-“

He broke off and let out a shrill squeak when the woman just walked right _through_ him as though he was nothing but thin air.

“It’s been two years now, Marco and there is not a single day that I’m not thinking of you. I thought it would get easier with time, but it doesn’t. And Elizabeth, I swear she looks just like you. She has your eyes.”

The woman was interrupted by the excited shouting of children and Thomas instinctively took a step to the side when he saw a young boy around six or seven years old running towards him with a small girl in tow. Her blond hair was shining in a reddish tone in the evening sun, happy laughter bubbling out of her until she stumbled over a root on the ground and landed flat on her face. Thomas jerked, leaning down to help the little child stand up, but his hands went right through the body again. He cursed, but the young woman was already kneeling down to help her daughter stand up as well. “Careful, Lizzy, you could have hurt yourself.”

The young girl seemed more surprised than hurt though as she reached for her mother to pull her up into her arms. The young boy who had watched them with worry in his eyes let out a squeal at being ignored like that. “She’s okay, Mum. You don’t have to pamper her like that.”

His mother gave him strict look. “Yann, you shouldn’t say things like that. You know how fragile and sickly your sister is.”

Yann sighed but didn’t argue, his eyes wandering to the rose bush next to him. “Mom, when are we going to see Uncle Marco again?”

The woman who must be Lady Crestienne froze at that, swallowing hard. “Uncle Marco is dead. You saw the fire that has taken him away from us. He isn't going to come back and neither is your father.”

A defiant expression appeared in Yann's face. “You're a liar, Mom!”

Crestienne's mouth fell open in shock, anger flashing briefly over her face. “Yann! Watch what you're saying!”

“But Uncle Marco has never lied to me before!” Yann shouted. “He said that he would never leave me for as long as I live.”

Crestienne bit her lip. “That's what grown-ups tell children every day to help them sleep at night. Marco didn't know that he would die so soon, otherwise he would have never said this to you.”

Yann shook his head. “But he told me this morning.”

His mother stilled, her eyes widening in disbelief. “What do you mean with that?”

“I saw Uncle Marco this morning, right here. He was suddenly standing beside me and when I asked him where he had been, he said I shouldn't worry, we would be reunited soon.”

Thomas stared at the little boy in shock just when he felt someone touching his shoulder and he lost the ground underneath his feet. He cried out in surprise when he found himself in Manuel's arms, his friend looking down at him with worry.

“Thomas, what's wrong? You were completely spaced out, you couldn't hear nor see me.”

Thomas groaned in exhaustion before turning his head back towards the bushes, finding them in the same state they had been when he and Miroslav had inspected them. “I just had the strangest dream.”


	5. A History of Violence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have tons of other things to do, but since I spent two days getting back into this story before I was finally able to start writing chapter four, I figured it was a good idea to write the next one right away. I never meant for it to be so long, I was 'shocked' when I eventually saw the word count. ;-)
> 
> In the past months my stories haven't had much feedback except for two or three very devoted readers, so I have to ask you to please, ease leave visible feedback. Stories like this one are very exhausting to write and leave me absolutely drained, it is only fun as long as I get visible support.

 

 

 

**Chapter 5:**

**A History of Violence**

 

The strange vision kept haunting Thomas throughout the whole afternoon. Under different circumstances he would have waved it off as a very real dream or some kind of hallucination caused by stress, but the scary thing was that he knew from the files that both of Crestienne’s children had died a violent death, he remembered their names from the list. He didn’t remember their age though and he could only hope that Yann’s words had been due to the child’s wild imagination. He must have dreamt of his uncle during the previous night. But nevertheless Thomas couldn’t completely shake off his worry and he made a mental note to ask Jakub in the next few days if there was some kind of family photo of Crestienne and her family. And if the woman looked nothing like the one from his vision, then Thomas could be sure that the strange vision didn’t mean anything at all and he merely needed to take a holiday soon.

So despite his instincts screaming at him otherwise, he vehemently shoved his thoughts aside and focused on the man walking beside him. He and Manuel had disposed their luggage in their new rooms and this time Thomas could even be convinced to unpack right away, even if it was just for the reason to open every cupboard and every wardrobe. His room was almost as large as his and Manuel’s entire flat in London was, though the dark mahogany wood was making the room appear smaller than it actually was. The bed was enough for three adult people to fit in and the mattress so soft that Thomas was convinced he was lying on a cloud. He closed the red curtains around his bed until it was completely dark and just kept lying there on his back until Manuel knocked at his door half an hour later.

Both of them were chatting excitedly about their rooms, Manuel gushing about the royal blue curtains and carpets in his room with as much passion as Thomas. When they walked down the staircase, they found Philipp standing in the entrance hall and looking at them expectantly. “I see that you want to go out. I hope we can expect both gentlemen back for dinner?”

“Of course,” Manuel responded instantly while Thomas clapped the butler’s back cheerfully. “Oh come on, Philipp, drop the whole etiquette thing. You don’t even address Jakub that formally.”

Philipp gave him a snubbed look. “I have known Lord Jakub for almost fifteen years now, so he and I share a different kind of relationship by now.”

Thomas’ smile didn’t even waver. “Oh come on, I’m sure the three of us would be wonderful friends if you only loosened up a bit. You can’t be much older than Manu, I’m sure we could hang out together some time.”

Philipp looked like he wanted to protest, but eventually seemed to think better of it. “Yes, maybe. I have a feeling you wouldn’t allow me to reject you anyway.”

“See?” Thomas responded with a wide grin. “You’re already starting to get to know me.”

With that he grabbed his jacket and left the hall, Manuel following close behind. They spent the short drive down to Willowdale in comfortable silence even though Thomas couldn’t help but wonder about Yann, Marco and the roses again.

Manuel parked in front of the café where they would be meeting Thiago today. Thomas didn’t like the thought of questioning the young man who must still be grieving over the loss of his little brother, but they had to do their duty. 

When they had entered, he couldn’t help a small smile from spreading on his face when he saw Xabi standing behind the counter and waving at him in greeting. Thomas ignored Manuel’s protest and walked over to him, leaning over the counter with a grin. “Hello, handsome. I thought you said that it was your day off today?”

Xabi grinned back amusedly. “It was. But I thought I could help Thiago out a bit and since he mentioned that two detectives would show up in the afternoon, I just couldn’t resist this opportunity to see you.”

“You could have just called me,” Thomas suggested.

Xabi sighed. “I know. But I didn’t want to interfere with your work. Besides, I didn’t like the thought of being that clingy, after all I’m not interested in a serious relationship right now. Not that I don’t enjoy spending time with you, but…” He broke off, apparently unsure how to put his thoughts into words.

Thomas merely reached out for his hand and smiled at him reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I perfectly understand. I wasn’t looking for anything more than some fun either. And I would love to spend some more time with you as a friend. With benefits occasionally because you’re simply too hot to resist.”

Xabi laughed and he dropped his gaze almost coyly, only the pleased smile betraying his feelings. Thomas placed a quick kiss to the hand he was still holding before letting go and turning back towards Manuel who was eying him with a curious expression. As soon as Thomas had sat down, his friend said, “You really care about him, don’t you?”

“Why do you sound like that surprises you?” Thomas retorted with a raised eyebrow. 

Manuel shrugged. “I don’t know, I just thought that one-night stands are for… you know, one night. I didn’t expect you to still be interested in him.”

Thomas stared at him for a long moment before chuckling softly. “Oh Manu, just because you only sleep with guys that you have known for months, doesn’t mean that I’m a slutty asshole. I only sleep with men that leave a trustworthy impression on me and I like to stay in contact with them even though I might never have sex with them again.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Manuel mumbled apologetically. “But if I might add, I have the feeling you and Xabi won’t stay a one-time thing.”

Thomas let his eyes wander to the handsome waiter who was serving two other guests at the moment. “Well, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, I guess.”

A moment later his attention was drawn to the man appearing from the private room in the back and whispering a few words to Xabi.

“This is him, this is Thiago.”

Manuel frowned. “How could you possibly know Thiago?”

Thomas bit his lip in an attempt to hide his sheepish grin. “He is Xabi’s roommate and he walked in on the two of us in bed this morning.”

Manuel’s eyes widened. “You’re joking, right?”

Thomas didn’t respond, meeting the gaze of the man who was now standing beside him. “Hello Thomas, it’s nice to finally see you with your clothes on.”

Thomas chuckled and stood up to offer Thiago his hand, but the smaller man completely ignored the gesture and pulled him into a tight hug instead. Thomas blinked in surprise but returned the embrace instantly before pointing to the man beside him. “This is my friend and colleague Manu.” 

Thiago let go of him, his eyes roaming over the completely perplexed Manuel. “Oh, wow! No offense, Thomas, you’re not bad to look at either, but your friend really is a looker.” 

Thomas’ amused chuckle turned into full-blown laughter when he saw his friend blushing a crimson red. “No offense taken. I’d fuck him too if he wasn’t my best friend.”

He flinched when he saw Manuel spitting his coffee over the table at that comment and he shared a quick understanding look with Thiago while Manuel was continuing to cough hard. 

Thiago sat down between them, rubbing Manuel’s back soothingly before becoming serious. “You wanted to speak to me?” 

Thomas nodded. “Yes. It’s about your brother as you can imagine.”

Thiago nodded. “I figured as much. Are there news regarding the cause of his death?”

“Not yet,” Manuel replied, his voice still hoarse from his violent coughing fit. “But we need something to start with and there’s no one who knew the victim better than you did. You came into the police station two weeks before he was found dead and you declared him missing. According to the forensics he was already dead by that time. There were several scratches on his body but no severe wounds, so it’s unlikely that he has been attacked before he fell into the water. But your brother had learnt to swim, right?” When Thiago had nodded, Manuel added in a gentle tone, “The police think he walked into the lake to kill himself.”

Anger flashed through Thiago’s eyes. “My brother would have never done that! We have been close ever since we were little children and he was the most fun-loving and carefree person I have ever known. He has never made any indication that he was unhappy with his life, not to mention that he wanted to put an end to it.”

Thomas opened his mouth to soothe Thiago, having expected such a reaction to Manuel’s questions. But to his surprise his friend had already reached out to take Thiago’s hand between his own palms, his only voice a soft whisper. “I know, Thiago, I believe you. I just said this is what the police think. I didn’t say that Thomas and I think the same.”

Thiago’s anger faded but he still looked mistrustful. “Then what do you think?”

Manuel exchanged a quick look with Thomas. “We are not sure yet. But if you tell us that Rafa would have never killed himself, then we believe you. And we will do our best to find out what really happened to your brother.”

Thiago nodded. “Thank you. Both of you. I just wish I could be of some help.”

Thomas carefully watched Manuel’s reaction. His friend usually appeared calm and collected and it was Thomas who showed sympathy for victims or their relatives more openly, but not this time. 

Manuel squeezed Thiago’s hand. “This is our job now. You will need the time to deal with your loss.”

Thiago bit his lip. “When will the police release his body? His funeral is in three days and I don’t want to bury an empty  coffin.”

Manuel fell silent and so it was up to Thomas to reply. “I wish there was something we could do to help, but as long as the investigation is on, the authorities won’t release his body. I’m sorry, Thiago, but there is nothing we can do about that.”

Thiago nodded, but he didn’t meet their eyes, a sad expression in his eyes now. He didn’t say anything, but when Manuel reached out to put his arm around the smaller one’s shoulder, Thiago leaned into the touch.

Thomas eyed him with sympathy, glad when Xabi appeared beside him with a large cup of coffee that he placed in front of his roommate.

Thiago shot him a grateful look, but he didn’t move away from Manuel’s embrace. Thomas caught Manuel’s surprised look, giving him nothing but a soft smile in return. It was so obvious that Manuel liked Thiago very much, but he needed to sort this kind of thing out himself. And as far as Thomas could tell, Thiago was intrigued by Manuel as well and he seemed to be a very open kind of person that would be honest to Manuel right from the start. Thomas didn’t need to offer his help here, both of them would talk about their feelings sooner rather than later anyway.

Manuel had finally overcome his surprise and had hesitantly put his arm around Thiago’s shoulder, the touch light as though he feared the smaller one would jerk away any second. When nothing of the sort happened, Manuel turned his attention back to Thomas.  “Jakub’s reaction to your question about the lamps was strange, don’t you think? I mean, it could be nothing, some people are afraid of fire for no reason, but the expression in his eyes didn’t quite fit his answer.”

Thomas nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. And you of all people would know that considering you have a crazy fire phobia as well.” He flinched when Manuel’s elbow hit his ribs. 

“Stop making fun of me, I just can’t help it, okay?” Manuel retorted annoyed.

Thiago looked between the two friends curiously. “You have a fire phobia, Manu? Is there any reason for it?”

Manuel’s expression softened, a blush appearing on his cheeks. “When I was in second grade, my teacher asked me come to the front of the classroom and light the candles of our Advent  wreath .  I had never done that before but was too shy to say anything, so I did it nevertheless. I burnt myself when I tried to light the first candle and all my classmates were just laughing at me.”

“Even today he needs a stick lighter to light a candle,” Thomas added, but he bumped his shoulder with Manuel’s to soften the teasing sting of his words.

Thiago smiled at Manuel. “That’s just too adorable. Someone like you being afraid of such a trivial thing like a little flame. Now I feel slightly better about my fear of bugs.”

“Bugs?” Manuel repeated surprised. “Spiders, I get. But bugs in general?”

“Don’t laugh!” Thiago told him with a threatening tone to his voice that didn’t sound quite convincing with the embarrassment written all over his face. “It’s just disgusting, all those tiny creepy-crawlies with dozens of limbs.” He shivered violently and Thomas really had a hard time to keep his laughter inside. 

“Are you really afraid of all bugs? Even butterflies?”

Thiago gave him an indignant look. “Never name such magnificent, beautiful creatures like butterflies and these disgusting insects in the same sentence. Butterflies are a completely different matter.”

“But you realize that butterflies are bu-” Thomas broke off instantly when he saw the withering look Thiago was giving him. “Never mind.”

He shifted the conversation back to Jakub and the castle for the next few minutes, listening to Thiago telling them everything he knew about the castle. Which wasn’t much but he hadn’t seriously expected anything else.

After half an hour Thiago bid his good-bye to them and left the café after a quick talk with Xabi who had placed a second cappuccino in front of Thomas. The latter stirred his spoon slowly, his eyes carefully watching Manuel who was staring after Thiago with a wistful expression.

Thomas raised the cup to his lips in a vain attempt to hide his amused grin, taking a sip before suggesting, “He’s cute, isn’t he?”

“Hmm,” was all Manuel replied absentmindedly. A second later he flinched and his eyes focused on Thomas with a scandalized look. “Hold on, are you trying to tell me you have set your sights on Thiago?”

Thomas almost choked on his coffee. “What? No, of course not! I mean, he’s adorable and seems like one of the nicest guys I have ever met, but no, just no. I’d never think of going after what’s yours.”

Manuel frowned. “What is that supposed to mean? Why would you think that I want anything from Thiago? I never even said anything.”

Thomas pointedly raised an eyebrow. “Oh, please. You’re my best friend, Manu, I know you better than you know yourself. Besides, I have eyes.”

Manuel cringed. “Stop it, Thomas!”

“And if you want to know my opinion- which I know you don’t want to hear, but I’m going to tell you anyway – Thiago seems to be interested as well.”

Manuel’s protest died on his tongue. “You think?”

“Take it as the word from a man who knows these kind of things,” Thomas replied dramatically, earning him an eye roll of his friend before they both returned their attention to their case.

 

***

 

Dinner with Jakub had mostly been a quiet affair, the two detectives too exhausted after their straining first day here to make much conversation. Thomas had never been gladder to get to his room and he barely had the energy to strip off his clothes before he fell into the soft cushions like a stone, instantly succumbing to sleep.

He awoke the next morning well-rested and feeling like he had been sleeping on a soft, cosy cloud. His sleep had been deep and dreamless, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had slept so well. Unwilling to stand up yet, he doze off two more times before finally finding the strength to roll out of bed stiffly and grab some clothes before walking into the adjoining bathroom. He marvelled once again at the size and beauty of this room, white and gold greeting him wherever he looked and he really seemed to take forever because he continued to get distracted by the symbols and forms he found in the designs. This time Manuel hadn’t waited up for him and without his friend Thomas needed twenty minutes to find his way from the private chambers in the east wing to the dining room right behind the entrance hall. 

Manuel scowled at him darkly when he eventually burst into the room, clearly upset with him being late but he didn’t say anything. Thomas mumbled an apology before plopping down next to Jakub whose lips had quirked up into a small smile. “I see you already familiarized yourself with this manor, Thomas. Philipp would have gladly given you a tour if you had asked.”

Thomas blushed. “I’ll keep it in mind for next time.”

He filled his plate and started to eat to keep his mouth busy and not having to talk more while Jakub and Manuel who had already finished eating, were arguing about the use of the local police. 

“I remember Carlo from my father’s death twenty years ago, he was the local police officer at that time. I’m not very fond of him these days considering his lack of interest for that case. He labelled it as suicide after merely two months of investigation.”

That finally caught Thomas’ attention. “I didn’t read the details of the file yet. How exactly did your father die?”

A pained expression appeared on Jakub’s face. “He hung himself. I found him hanging from the ceiling of the library one morning. I was ten years old, so you can imagine what a traumatizing event this has been for me.”

Thomas felt sympathy for the older man, but he resisted the urge to reach out and touch him. Heavy silence settled over them and Thomas was wrecking his brain to find something else to talk about when suddenly a thought struck him.

“Jakub, you don’t happen to own pictures of Lady Crestienne Gómez or her children?”

Jakub frowned. “Well, photographs didn’t exist in 1716 yet, but there are portraits of all family members in this house. I could show them to you right after breakfast if you would like.”

Thomas nodded. “Thank you, that would be great.”

“Why the sudden interest in her? She died a natural death at the age of 63 years, so she is not one of your cases.”

Thomas briefly flanked at Manuel, contemplating if he could tell Jakub what he had seen in the garden or if the Lord of Black Mirror would declare him crazy. Which he found hard to believe considering the things Jakub’s family had already seen. “I’m not sure. Yesterday I saw something that I can’t explain, I think it was Lady Crestienne and her children. It was so vivid and real as though I had really been part of it, but I shouldn’t even know how they look. Perhaps it was just an hallucination, so I’d like to get peace of mind.”

Jakub looked at him for a long moment. “Well, then I suggest we should do that right away. Just finish eating first, the portraits won’t go anywhere.”

Thomas heaved a sigh of relief, he had expected that he would have to do a lot more explaining. Philipp who had stood silently in the back until now like it was expected from a butler, gave him a curious look when he took Thomas’ plate, but he didn’t say anything.

Jakub led the two detectives through the door behind the staircase, the one that Thomas had seen him take the day before. Behind it was a long corridor with an old crimson carpet, at the left side windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling while the right side had large paintings hanging at the stone wall. Outside the sky was grey and it was raining quietly against the glass. Jakub turned on the lights, many small lamps with the design of torches at each wall, and headed for the other side of the corridor with quick steps. Thomas could only catch glimpses of the family portraits while he and Manuel were hurrying after their host. Jakub stopped a few metres short of the door at the other end of the corridor and pointed to the painting in front of them.

“These are Lord Mario and his wife, Lady Crestienne.”

Thomas froze at the sight of the couple. This might just be a drawing and was therefore not completely accurate to the real Crestienne, the painter having drawn her much more beautiful than she had actually been but the similarities with the woman from Thomas’ vision were still striking. She was wearing a dark green dress with a black high collar, her body more curved than the woman’s from Thomas’ vision and her deep red hair done into a strict bun. The expression in her dark eyes was cold and farouche but she was definitely the worried mother that Thomas had seen in the garden. “This is her.”

Jakub didn’t look surprised as though he had really believed Thomas right from the start. Manuel however frowned. “Are you sure?”  
“Absolutely.”

“You could have seen another portrait of her in a book before, perhaps your subconscious remembered that and used it for your hallucination. It’s the same with dreams. The human brain can’t just create new faces, it always uses existing images from memories. You have got to have seen this woman’s portrait somewhere.” 

“Manu, I swear to you that neither have I seen this woman before nor did my mind make something up. This vision which I had was some kind of memory, it must have been. I know it sounds crazy and I have no idea how something like this is possible, but that’s the only explanation.”

Manuel opened his mouth in protest but then seemed to think better of it and closed it again. Thomas knew how hard this must be for his friend to accept, Manuel was a man that believed in logic and the ability of science to explain every mystery in this world, so accepting Thomas’ explanation was against everything he believed in. 

Jakub however seemed less suspicious. “I don’t think you’re crazy, Thomas. I’m sure there’s an explanation to why you saw this memory. Perhaps you’re a medium? These old walls have so much stories and unfinished business that I wouldn’t be surprised if such people would get crushed by visions, memories or whatever you would like to call them.”

Thomas didn’t respond. He found it hard to believe that he of all people could be gifted in the paranormal area, but Jakub was right. If there was one place that could awaken such abilities, then it would for sure be the Castle of Black Mirror. “In that memory I also saw her children, Yann and Elizabeth. Are there any portraits of them as well?”

Jakub pointed to his right. “This is Lord Yann with his wife Lady Claudia.”

Thomas let out the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. He had feared that Yann had died as a young boy, but if it had truly been Marco’s ghost that he had been seeing, then Thomas shouldn’t be surprised that it had taken another few years for Yann to die. ‘We will be reunited soon’ surely had a different meaning for a ghost than for a living human.

“How old was he when he died?” Manuel asked as they studied the young man in the portrait. He had the dark brown eyes of his mother, but otherwise he shared a lot of similarities with his father, the same tanned skin and the soft-looking, chocolate brown hair that was framing his slim face.

“He died in 1739 at the age of 28 years,” Jakub replied in a regretful tone. “Only five years after he had married Claudia and only three years after the birth of their daughter Anna. According to the records he slit his wrists and a maid found him dead in his bed the morning after.”

Manuel inhaled sharply. “That’s so horrible. What about his sister Elizabeth?”

Once again Jakub pointed to the next portrait on the right. “Since her marriage she had been living in the estate of her husband, a young baron called Roman Bürki, with their daughter. But the couple paid a visit to Black Mirror every year on Christmas Eve.”

Jakub didn’t continue, but Thomas was sure there was more to this. “And?”

“In 1751, a fire broke out in the west wing of the castle, presumably caused by the candles on the Christmas tree. Lady Elizabeth had been sleeping on the couch and died in the fire. Her husband was also killed when he attempted to rescue her from the burning room. He had managed to get their daughter out of there before he had come back for his wife and since little Katarina was barely a year old at that time, custody went to Yann’s widow Lady Claudia.”

Thomas swallowed hard when he realized what Jakub was hinting at. “And just like that all living members of the Gómez family were back at Black Mirror.”

Jakub’s scowl darkened even further. “Exactly.”

It was completely silent, Thomas and Manuel struggling to take in all this new information. The more they heard about the tragedies that had occurred in this family, the harder it became to believe in unfortunate accidents or simple suicides. On the other hand was Thomas really going to believe a five year old boy who had claimed that he had seen his dead uncle? And if so, what exactly was Marco’s role in this? He had been the second violent death, not the first, so it was highly unlikely that he was responsible for this… this curse. But then why would he have wanted to see Yann dead? And was he the only ghost in this castle or were there more of them? And if that was the case, then were all of them as vengeful as Marco had apparently been? But most importantly who was the real one responsible, the one who had started it all by murdering Mario Gómez? Questions over questions…

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar figure coming towards them. Jakub frowned, a hint of annoyance in his features. “What is it, Philipp? I thought it was obvious that we didn’t want to be disturbed.”  
“I’m very sorry, Lord Jakub,” Philipp responded. “But you have a visitor.”

“A visitor?” Jakub repeated dumbfounded. “I’m not expecting one today.”

“It’s your cousin, Mylord.”

Jakub let out a string of curses that were surely not appropriate for someone of his status, a dark scowl entering his eyes. “I swear this man is going to be the death of me one day. He couldn’t have picked a more inconvenient time to show up, could he?”

Philipp looked completely unfazed by his master’s outburst. “That is his habit if I’m allowed to say so.”

Jakub cursed again before turning to the two detectives. “I’m afraid we have to continue here some other time, my  _cousin_ doesn’t like it when I make him wait. And it wouldn’t be in anyone’s interest to upset him.”

He followed Philipp back to where they had come from and Manuel followed them curiously after a moment. Thomas however stayed for a few minutes longer, his eyes roaming over the paintings with the foolish hope to trigger another vision that could have solved this complicated mystery he and Manuel had got themselves into.

But nothing happened, the paintings didn’t magically come to life nor did the room shift, his head hurt or anything else happen. Eventually a disappointed Thomas had to admit defeat and he followed the others back into the entrance hall. He could hear Jakub talking to someone, presumably his cousin, but before he could walk around the staircase hindering his view, Manuel was coming towards him with a strange expression on his face. He looked almost impressed.

Thomas raised his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just that I have never seen a more handsome man than Jakub’s cousin is.”

“Just don’t tell Thiago,” Thomas replied amusedly before he froze all of a sudden. “Wait, I have never heard you calling a man handsome. You never even called a woman beautiful ever since Nina broke up with you when you were fifteen.”

“Don’t remind me,” Manuel replied warningly. “But seriously that guy is hot.”

Now Thomas’ curiosity was really sparked, after all he hadn’t even known that ‘handsome’ and ‘hot’ belonged to his friend’s vocabulary. He rounded Manuel, but all he could see was a very pissed-off Jakub and the mysterious stranger’s back. The man was taller than Jakub with short, dark hair and a lean body clad in a black, tight-fitting tuxedo that was accentuating his broad shoulders and his very delicious backside. That alone would have been enough to make Thomas’ mouth water, but then the man turned around and Thomas felt like being hit by a train. Handsome or hot didn’t even begin to describe this man, he looked like an ancient god, piercing blue eyes captivating Thomas’ mind with so much force that he felt like fainting right on the spot. The stranger’s curious expression turned into one of surprise as he must be able to tell that Thomas was eating him up with his eyes. 

Jakub coughed awkwardly. “Well, I’m sure you have already heard of the private detectives that will be staying with us for a while. Manuel and Thomas.”

The man’s aristocratic features turned into a warm smile and he reached out his hand for Thomas to take. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the two of you. My name is Robert Lewandowski.”

Thomas could barely make sense of his words, too occupied with memorizing the melodious sound of his voice. Only when several seconds had passed and Robert’s smile was slowly fading, did Thomas realize that a response was expected from him. He grabbed the offered hand, an electric jolt going through him at the contact. “The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Lewandowski.”

“Just Robert please,” was the immediate response, reminding Thomas of Jakub’s own introduction. Yes, these two men were definitely related.

“Robert then,” Thomas agreed and he couldn’t help but smile pleased. He studied Robert’s face carefully, trying to come to terms with the sheer attractiveness of this man and failing to remind himself that he was way out of Thomas’ league.

It didn’t help that a treacherous little voice in his head voice kept reminding him that he had been thinking the same thing of Xabi…

Robert’s smile turned into an amused grin. “Em, can I have my hand back please?”

Thomas needed another second to process that he was still clutching Robert’s hand tightly to his chest like a trophy and he let go with an embarrassed expression. “Sorry.”

He turned away, mentally face palming himself but just when he was about to follow Manuel up the staircase, Robert’s voice made him stop. “Jakub tells me you prefer to spend lunch in the village but I hope I will see you at dinner, Thomas.”

The latter shivered in excitement when he heard Robert speaking his name for the very first time and it took him a lot of effort to form a coherent reply, “Me too.”

Once again he was frozen in place, his eyes roaming over Robert while he was watching the latter’s eyes light up at his response. He was saved from further embarrassment when Manuel grabbed his arm and started dragging him up the stairs. “No, Thomas, just no. He is some kind of rich lord while you are nothing, forget it. Besides he doesn’t look like the one night stand type to me.”

Thomas hummed in agreement. “I’d definitely be up for more than one time.”

“Thomas!” Manuel hissed but before he could throw a fit, Thomas added, “No, Manu, I’m serious this time. This man is straight up boyfriend material, no scratch that, he is husband material.”

“Don’t you think you are getting a bit ahead of yourself?”

Thomas smiled, a dreamy expression entering his face when he thought of that warm smile and Robert’s velvet-like voice. “Manu, I think I just fell in love.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy that I could finally introduce Robert into this story.
> 
> By the way Manu's and Thiago's respective phobias are my own, there's nothing I fear more than fire and bugs. Except for butterflies because they are beautiful!


	6. The Demons From Our Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear readers,
> 
> I have longed to come back to this special story for months but I wanted to finish some of my shorter/further progressed WIPs first.  
> I finally got to do that now but I want to take this opportunity to ask you to give me some feedback to my chapters. I have noticed for a while now that my updates get less and less feedback, but considering that most of my recent updates were of stories that I had gifted to some of my faithful readers, I didn't say anything as I didn't want to diminish their joy at these updates.  
> But now I would like to take the opportunity to be open: I put a lot of work and effort into my stories and given how hectic real life has become for me lately, writing takes away most of my free time. It always leaves me drained and exhausted, but it usually is worth it when I get encouraging comment from my readers. But these comments have become fewer and fewer and now there are only two to four people left who seem to care about my stories. At least that's the impression I have, considering this isn't my first plea for feedback and the previous ones have gone unnoticed by the majority of my readers.  
> I already abandoned several WIPs because of the lack of feedback, including 'Shards of a Broken Hourglass' which still is very dear to my heart. If my subscribers - who seem to like my writing because why else would they have subscribed? - continue to be silent, more stories might follow. And 'The Secret of Black Mirror' will be one of the first to do so as it is a particular hard one to write because of all the mystery and the fact that most of the plot points are still an entangled mess in my head that would need many hours of rearranging.  
> I'm not expecting essays on my writing, even a simple "I really liked this chapter" would make me happy. I'm sure this is not too much to ask for and that my updates are worth these ten seconds of effort.

 

 

**Chapter 6:**

**The Demons From Our Past**

Unsurprisingly Thomas spent the whole day thinking of Robert Lewandowski. If he hadn’t been so occupied with his daydreaming, he would have been embarrassed by his own behaviour, he was really acting like a teenager experiencing their first crush in high school. And yet it was so hard not to feel intrigued by this man, the exception being Jakub. The Lord of Black Mirror didn’t seem to be very fond of his cousin, a sense of hostility surrounding him whenever he was in one room with Robert. Thomas would have liked to question one of them about it, but he was aware that this was far too personal to ask. Thomas and Manuel had been spending the whole afternoon wandering around the common rooms of the castle, trying to trigger another vision from Thomas. But of course that would have been far too easy.

“Nothing?” Manuel asked for the seventh time as he watched his friend sitting in the large armchair in the entrance hall, the one that Jakub was usually sitting in.

Thomas sighed resigned. “Nothing. Not even the faintest tingling. I think Jakub was wrong, I’m just an ordinary man who needs a few days off to sort his head out.”

Manuel was about to respond when another voice beat him to it. “I bet you are many things but definitely not ordinary.”

Thomas jumped so hard that he almost fell off the chair and he craned his head to see Robert descending the stairs. He was wearing less formal clothes now, tight-fitting black jeans with a dark blue button-down. As Thomas watched him coming closer, Thomas felt the sudden urge to reach out and undo the two top buttons in order to reveal more of the hidden skin, a very distracting thought to put it mildly.

Robert looked between the two detectives curiously. “The two of you don’t seem very happy with whatever you were trying to achieve.”

Manuel sighed heavily. “Thomas had a vision yesterday. Of Lady Crestienne and her children. We were hoping we could somehow trigger another one, but we don’t know how.”

Thomas had expected Robert to laugh at them, but instead the latter bit his bottom lip as he tried to think. “I happen to know a thing or two about paranormal things, perhaps I can help you.”

Thomas sat up immediately. “Really? How come that you are interested in these kind of things?”

He realized his question was kind of ironic in this castle, but Robert didn’t seem to be offended. “Do you know why this castle is called Black Mirror? There is a large mirror in the tower at the west wing and according to the stories it was a gift from a powerful wizard. Legend says the mirror acted as a thin veil between the worlds and could capture souls.” A small smile appeared on Robert’s face. “When I was just a little boy, I had the foolish hope that I could use magic to control the mirror. I spent hours over hours either in the library of the castle, studying everything that looked remotely like a spell book or standing before the mirror and trying to open a portal into another world. And some days I could swear I heard low voices whispering to me.”

Thomas’ eyes widened. “Really?”

Robert blinked to shake off the memory, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. “I was a little boy at that time. Children see a lot of magical things in the ordinary.”

Thomas however found himself reminded of his vision. Yann had also been a little boy when the ghost of Marco had spoken to him. Wasn’t it a proven fact that children were more attentive to the supernatural than adults? Thomas swallowed hard when he remembered that Robert was a member of this family as well, so the curse could also kill him. “What exactly did the voices tell you?”

A thoughtful expression entered Robert’s eyes as he tried hard to remember. “They asked me to free them at first.” He swallowed hard. “And later, later they told me that I would end like them. Alone and riven by grief. A soul never finding its peace for all eternity.”

Thomas felt his insides freeze when he thought of the rose bushes in the garden. Each one planted for a victim in the hope that their souls would find peace one day. Now it was starting to make sense. But most importantly Robert seemed to be one of the next victims…

Cold fear clawed at Thomas’ heart at the realization and he almost missed Manuel’s question. “Jakub thinks that a family curse is responsible for all the violent deaths. What do you think?”

Robert’s eyes became harder when he focused on the blond. “I think that Jakub is an intelligent man whose words you should consider carefully instead of brushing them off just because you think it sounds ridiculous.”

The words might have been as eloquent and polite as ever but the warning was clear to detect in between the lines. Manuel took an unconscious step back. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I just don’t believe in the supernatural, that’s all.”

Robert looked away at that, his eyes filling with something akin to hurt. “Jakub isn’t crazy. And I am not either.”

“No one said that,” Thomas assured him softly. “But we have to consider other, more rational possibilities as well, that’s part of our job.”

Robert nodded slowly. “Yes, I know. I’m sorry, it’s just hard to stay reasonable considering everything that has happened.”

To that Thomas could relate. But before he could respond, Philipp appeared behind them. “I apologize for interrupting your chat but Jakub asked me to inform you that dinner is ready.”

Manuel nodded. “Thank you, we will be there in a minute.”

 

***

 

Dinner was as awkward as the first time around.

The hostility Jakub was showing his cousin was hard to miss and Thomas found himself wondering what kind of fallout had caused this rift between them.

The roasted chicken breast that Philipp had served them tasted delicious but Thomas tried to remember etiquette and slow down his eating, especially when he saw the way Robert pecked at his plate without much interest.

In an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence between them Manuel spoke up. “Thomas and I need to inspect Rafa’s room. Is that possible?”

Jakub nodded. “Yes, of course, if you think it could help.”

“We hope to get some hints there, perhaps regarding a possible enemy or a suicide note that would explain things.”

Jakub’s eyes hardened but he didn’t protest. “I understand that you have to consider all possible scenarios. We can take a look at it first thing in the morning.”

Thomas swallowed down his bite. “What about the west wing? I know you said we shouldn’t go there but considering the amount of deaths that occurred there, it would be…”

“No!” Jakub cut him off with an angry snarl. “No one ever sets a foot in there again. Besides, it burnt down sixty years ago, so you won’t find much there.”

Thomas remembered what Jakub had told them in the morning; that Crestienne’s daughter Elizabeth had died when a Christmas tree had set the whole room on fire. “It burned down again?”

No one answered him but Robert joined in with an encouraging smile directed at his cousin. “I could lead the detectives into the west wing and show them around.”

Jakub’s eyes flashed with fury. “You will do no such thing! Enough people died in there, I won’t let another one come on top of that.”

Robert’s lips pressed into a thin line and without another word, he stood up and left the room, leaving his plate of food almost untouched.

Jakub swallowed and suddenly the anger faded from his expression. “I’m sorry for shouting at you, I don’t make a habit of doing that to anyone but Robert.”

Manuel inclined his head curiously. “Why do you hate him so much?”

“I don’t hate him,” Jakub responded thoughtfully. “Quite the contrary actually, I care a lot about him. I just wish he would finally stop being stubborn and let me help him.”

At Manuel and Thomas’ confused looks he added in a resigned voice. “Robert had a lot to go through when he was younger and he has closed off his heart. What he needs is someone to love him unconditionally and show him that there is good in this world. That there are things worth living for.”

The words sounded alarming to Thomas. “Do you think he could try killing himself?”

Jakub looked away. “We never explicitly talked about it. But I know that he doesn’t believe in life any longer. All that is keeping him from killing himself are Thiago and me. As long as just one family member is alive, then the curse will never be broken. And just like me, Robert yearns for this to end.”

His words made Thomas’ insides clench in fear. “And you really think he would go through with it? Killing himself?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Jakub replied. “Nor does it matter if he wants or not. You heard what happened to our relatives in the west wing – to people like Mario Goméz or his son Yann. This curse drove them to kill themselves and eventually it will take Robert down with it.”

Thomas shook his head vehemently. “You have to believe in Robert. Otherwise how can you expect him to believe in himself?”

With that he stood up as well to follow Robert. When he had reached the door, Jakub called after him. “Please don’t tell him about this. He doesn’t like it when people talk about him.”

“I won’t,” Thomas promised and then he exited the room. He had expected Robert to be in his own room – not that Thomas knew where that was – but instead he found him sitting at the bottom of the staircase in the entrance hall, apparently lost in thought.

“Are you okay, Robert?”

The latter flinched at being torn from his thoughts but his features instantly turned into a smile. “Don’t worry about me. I’m used to fighting with Jakub.”  
Thomas thought of something to distract Robert and pointed outside. “I have wanted to check out the crime scene ever since we arrived here. And Jakub only said that the west wing is off limits. So would you mind showing me around the lake?”

Robert looked surprised by the suggestion but it quickly changed into a pleased smile. “I would love to. You should just change your clothes or at the very least your footwork, the ground there is very muddy.”

“Alright, I will meet you here in ten minutes.”

 

***

 

Ten minutes later they were walking side by side away from the castle. Thomas had changed into a pair of old sneakers while Robert had dressed down from his trousers and button-down to black jeans and a long-sleeved grey shirt that was peeking out underneath his black coat. He looked even more handsome in black which was definitely not fair, Thomas thought to himself.

“Do you also believe in the family curse? I mean, you didn’t seem to have a problem with letting us see the west wing.”

Robert shrugged. “I don’t think that setting a foot into this part of the castle will instantly kill someone. Especially not the two of you because as you already said, it is a family curse and neither of you is family. Besides, a lot of people lived there over the last few centuries without anything ever happening to them.” He shuddered at the cold wind blowing into their faces. “But it is hard to rationally explain all these mysterious deaths, isn’t it?”

Thomas hummed in agreement. “This must be scary for you. Almost all of your blood relatives died of violent deaths here at the castle and no one could find an explanation or make it stop. And no one knows who is going to be the next victim.” Thomas hesitated before asking, “Why did you come back here, Robert? If you believe in the curse, why did you put yourself in danger?”

Robert’s hand fisted and his voice sounded torn. “Rafa died. How could I turn my back to this, knowing that Thiago or Jakub might be next?”

Thomas couldn’t argue with that. “I had the impression that you and Jakub didn’t like each other that much.”

Robert laughed. “Well, you’re not wrong. Jakub and I always had our differences but we don’t hate each other. As infuriating as he can be, I don’t want him to die. I told him several times to just leave the castle and save himself, to leave this life behind him but he wouldn’t listen. He won’t leave until the curse is broken or he dies trying to achieve that.”

At hearing this, Thomas felt deep respect for Jakub. “I appreciate your concern about your cousin, but you know that you could end up dead as well, do you?”

Robert grimaced. “Death doesn’t scare me any longer. It can’t if I don’t want to lose my mind.”

His way of thinking didn’t comfort Thomas at all, reminding him too much of Jakub’s words and with a quick motion he reached out to grab Robert’s arm. “I won’t let you die. I promise you that even if it means that I have to kidnap you and take you away from here myself.”

Robert didn’t respond right away, a raw expression in his eyes. “Thomas, you don’t know anything about me. I’m more than just the kind, attractive man you see.”

Thomas narrowed his eyes. “We all have our dark side. Tell me one thing that you think will make me think differently about you!”

Robert looked away at that and his eyes became distant, making him appear much older than he actually was. “When I was younger, I used to be jealous of my big brother. My father always favoured him and wouldn’t even look at me when the three of us were in one room together. Only when we were all alone as though he was ashamed of me. Can you imagine how painful that was? To never have a real father that cared about me?”

Thomas loosened his grip on Robert’s arm, stroking up and down in a comforting manner. “I can imagine it. But why would that make me change my mind about you?”

“There is more to the story. My brother had a lover, one that he had real feelings for. But my brother could be very possessive and things were going downhill between them because of that. Sometimes he would even beat his lover and once I found out about this, I was the one taking care of the latter. Slowly we began to fall in love with each other. If I had loved my brother, I would have never let things progress this far and told him about the affair but I felt no remorse. I’m the reason the two of them fell apart and to this day I don’t regret it.”

Thomas was quiet after this admission. It was stupid to feel disappointed that Robert already had a boyfriend but to be honest, he shouldn’t have been surprised. This man was not only rich but also extremely good-looking, of course he was already taken. He forced the thought away.

“Did your brother forgive you?”

“No,” Robert responded calmly. “He was furious with us both and obviously hurt. I don’t know if he would have eventually forgiven me because the curse killed him soon after.”

Thomas’ heart sank. “I’m so sorry to hear that. But I have to disappoint you, I still don’t think you’re a bad person. Yes, you should have been honest with your brother right from the start. You made a mistake that you can never make right again but I understand why you behaved this way. Your father made you feel unloved and being less worth than your brother. Why would you have second thoughts about hurting a man who has always been the reason for your own misery?”

His own words surprised him and he could see a similar expression on the older one’s face, just before it melted away into raw warmth. “You truly are different, Thomas. You are the first person to understand me even if you don’t agree with me.” He resumed walking and Thomas followed him after a moment. The wind had picked up considerably, hitting his face and making Thomas regret that he had left his jacket behind.

He hurried to catch up with Robert. “Will I ever get to see your mysterious boyfriend?”

Robert smiled. “Most likely. He wanted to come here as well in a few days and I really hope he will. I haven’t been able to touch and kiss him in ages.”  
Thomas vehemently ignored the sting in his chest. “Why not? Aren’t you living together?”

“We do,” Robert replied. “But thanks to our jobs and the lives that we live, we are forced to be apart for long times and don’t get to see each other as often as we would like.”

“I see,” Thomas responded and he couldn’t keep the hurt from his voice. Robert must have heard it as well because he slowed down and looked regretfully at him.

“I can’t be your boyfriend, Thomas, I’m sorry. He and I agreed to engage in nothing more than one night stands during our time apart.”

Thomas raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t take you for the casual relationship kind of guy.”

Robert’s eyes darkened. “Oh, I’m very possessive about my lover, don’t you doubt that. But we both are aware that sex doesn’t necessarily mean love. As long as our feelings don’t get involved, we don’t mind sharing.”

Thomas hated himself for the spark of hope growing in his heart. He knew it was a bad idea to do this when he was already emotionally attached but he had never been strong in self-control. “So, does that mean once this case is over, I could have one night with you?”

He expected Robert to be amused by his eagerness, but instead the dark-haired man seemed pleased. “I don’t see why not. But why waiting this long?”

“You’re a possible target, I can’t just hop into bed with you in the middle of the investigation,” Thomas argued even though his stomach did an excited flip at the thought of devouring this hot mess in front of him right away.

Robert raised his hands in surrender. “Fine, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Thomas chuckled. “Wow, someone is very eager. I didn’t think you of all people would be that desperate.”  
Robert smirked. “Maybe I just like the idea of making you scream.”

Thomas was no prude but the heated words still made him blush a faint pink. Suddenly he found himself wondering when they had ended up standing so close, much too close. Robert’s scent was surrounding him and fuelling his hunger for this man, which was so distracting that Thomas didn’t realize that his eyes had closed until he felt Robert’s breath against his lips and there was a hand softly pushing him back.

“We can’t kiss. He’d rip my head off if I broke that rule, or rather your head.”

Thomas bit his lip, silently berating himself for being so stupid and weak. Of course he couldn’t just kiss Robert, the man was already taken, goddammit!  “Of course. Sorry, I just got taken away for a moment.”

He was equally glad and disappointed when Robert turned away from him to resume walking.

They finally reached the lake and Thomas found himself mesmerized by it all over again. There were several little isles in the water and contrary to the rest of the estate it appeared like the lake’s flora wasn’t tended to at all. Grasses and plants were growing wildly, making it appear more like a big swamp in the forest rather than the lake of a castle.

Beside them an old lime tree was bending their way in the wind, its long, thin twigs whipping against his arm almost painfully. Robert eyed the surface of the water carefully and Thomas couldn’t blame him, after all Rafa ‘s corpse had been found here only days ago.

Thomas was walking along the shore, away from the lime tree and closer to the moss-covered stones at the far end of the estate. After a while of making his way through the veil of wild plants hindering his view, he found himself standing in front of what looked like a very small black roof peeking out from the leaf-covered ground. Curiously he bent down and inspected it more closely. It was much too small to belong to a house, more fitting for a pompous garden shelter. The other end of the roof disappeared in the water, so most likely the building had been standing at the shore and over the years the muddy ground had caved in, causing the building to sink into the lake.

Thomas was about to straighten and head back to ask Robert about it when something in the water caught his eye. He froze, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of _two eyes_ staring back at him. He was unable to make out details, the eyes framed by shadows but he could swear that they belonged to a human.

It was watching Thomas carefully, something dark and vicious dancing in these orbs as it extended one limb – an arm – towards him.

Thomas wanted to scream in horror when a pale hand broke through the surface but nothing came out. He was frozen in place and unable to do anything but stare as the creature sank back into the water, its glowing eyes all that Thomas could see any longer except for the outstretched arm. The fingers curled and relaxed again.

It was asking Thomas to come closer.

And to his own shock, he found himself taking a step forward, the sound of splashing water making him aware that he was walking into the lake. He tried to scream again but his mouth wouldn’t even open, instead his body took a second step forward and Thomas could feel water soaking his socks and the jeans around his ankles. He had lost control over his body.

Slowly he raised his own arm to take the offered hand but the stranger in the water sank deeper again, his fingers disappearing under the water. Thomas’ body followed it, taking step after step into the lake. The water was already sloshing around his shoulders when he finally saw the human swimming under the surface and watching him again.

The shadows were sharper now, forming into the contours of a lean, male body but somehow that only made things worse. Panicked Thomas tried to break from this spell, trying to make himself turn away but to no avail. His body took another step forward and the man’s from shadows framed eyes narrowed strangely. It took Thomas a moment to register that the man was grinning wickedly at him.

And the next moment he was diving down as well. The world was tinged in the darkness of lurking shadows and the green of the water and it took Thomas a moment to adjust. It felt like a nightmare somehow, no sound coming to his ears as he let himself float towards the ground. The man was clearer now, revealing the handsome features of a man around Thomas’ age with either blond or very light brown hair, it was hard to tell with the green in the water. The evil eyes watching him were either green or hazel or light brown or grey, Thomas couldn’t tell down here and it was getting darker and darker as he-

The man’s hand grabbed his jaw and Thomas’ circling thoughts came to a stop instantly. The man leaned closer, invading Thomas’ personal space and for a moment the young man was sure that he was going to kiss him. But instead the man stopped only inches away from his lips and inhaled deeply as though he was trying to pick out his scent in the water.

Thomas would have been confused if he wasn’t so scared right now and he became aware that he was running out of air. The hand at his jaw was forcing his mouth apart while the man’s free hand wound around his waist, pulling Thomas into a mockery of an embrace. Thomas’ was finally able to move and he tried to break free from the grasp, feeling the man’s ice cold chest pressing too tightly against his back. But the man was stronger, being able to hold Thomas in place with unbelievable ease. The fingers at the corners of his mouth were dipping inside, aiming for his tongue and Thomas recoiled when he realized the man wanted to rip his tongue out.

He renewed his fighting but the man’s grip around him had become so tight that he could barely move again and Thomas was forced to stay still and look ahead. The black and green surrounding them was broken by the small, white building in front of him, the one its roof he had seen at the shore. With the two pillars at the front, it looked like a small temple or crypt.

On instinct he breathed in as his lungs were screaming desperately for oxygen and his nose filled with water, making him gag.

Fingers were pulling soft but firm at his tongue, making the back of his throat sting with pain but it was nothing compared to the all-consuming burning in his lungs. Darkness was taking him under and he was surprised when one last sensation overloaded his synapses; a deathly cold but soft cheek pressing against his own and a dark, intriguing scent washing over him.

But suddenly he was moving – someone else had grabbed him and was pulling him upwards. Oxygen, too much oxygen was flooding his lungs and he coughed violently as his saviour was hauling him towards the shore.

Finally Thomas was out of the water and lying on hard ground, spitting and coughing and trying to come to terms that he was still alive. His vision was still busy adjusting to the daylight but soon enough the figure looming above him with a horrified face sharpened into the face of Robert.

“Thomas? Thomas, are you alright?”

It took another few seconds until Thomas was finally able to speak again. “Yeah, I’m just…” He tried to think back to what had just happened but his memory was foggy and he struggled to piece it back together. “There was s-someone in the water. A man. He t-tried to k-kill me.”

“Shh,” Robert soothed him as he picked up his coat that he had apparently thrown to the ground before diving in to save Thomas and gently he put it over Thomas’ shoulders. Instantly Robert’s heavy, male scent surrounded Thomas like a blanket and he pulled the jacket more tightly around himself, his whole body shaking from the cold and obviously from shock.

Suddenly Robert was kneeling down in front of him and pulling him into his arms, his warmth seeping into Thomas’ skin. And Thomas was far too exhausted and scared to be ashamed for curling around the former’s body, hiding his face in the crook of the long, pale neck to inhale Robert’s intoxicating scent.

Robert didn’t seem to mind though. He didn’t try to bring some distance between them but just continued to hold Thomas tightly.

Several minutes were passing in tense silence until Thomas’ shaking had subsided slightly and Robert was helping him to stand up, not loosening their embrace as he did so. “You said there was a man in the water?”

Thomas nodded, the memory of those evil eyes  making him clutch Robert’s arm even tighter. “Yes. I can’t remember the details but he was the reason I went in there. I didn’t want to but it was like a compulsion, I just couldn’t fight it.”

“I believe you,” Robert assured him in a tender voice. “But when I dived down to grab you, I couldn’t see anyone in there, just you.”

“I’m not lying,” Thomas protested vehemently. “I saw him, he tried to kill me!”

“Shh, please calm down. I believe you, okay?”

They continued walking in silence while Thomas’ teeth were chattering from the cold wind that had picked up even further in the meantime, indicating that a storm was coming.

When they rounded the wall of the east wing and were walking towards the entrance, Robert finally spoke again, his voice wary. “Did he do anything? I mean did he instantly go for killing you like some rabid animal or did he try to communicate?”

“We were under water, how- would he have wanted to communicate?” Thomas asked before he remembered something. “Wait, there was s-something. Before he held me down, he leaned fo-forward. I thought he wanted to k-kiss me but he just inhaled my s-scent. And just before you arrived, he was-s trying to rip my tongue o-out of my mouth.”

Robert gave him an incredulous look. “Ripping your tongue out? Why would he do that?”

Thomas laughed hysterically. “Sorry, but I was t-too busy fighting for my life to a-ask him.”

Robert shook his head, “Yeah, of course. Sorry, I’m just worried.”

He pulled Thomas into the entrance hall where a horrified Philipp was already rushing towards them. “My goodness, what happened?”

“Someone tried to kill him,” Robert responded in a grim voice but he shook his head when Philipp tried to ask more questions. “We can discuss this later, right now he needs a warm bath and dry clothes. And preferably some hot tea later.”

Philipp nodded in agreement before he helped Robert to steer Thomas into the direction of the bathroom.

 


	7. We Might Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't caught up with replying to the comments on my other stories yet for which I have to apologize. But it's easier doing this in between than writing stories, so I finished this new chapter up first before I will be away thanks to work for almost a week. I promise to see to your comments soon.  
> This new chapter is more of a filler and I'm not completely satisfied but maybe that's normal after the rollercoaster we had in the last one.  
> And at least I was finally able to make a detailed outline for this story as you might have noticed from the chapter count. Lots of work ahead it seems. :-)

 

 

**Chapter 7:**

**We Might Fall**

Thomas was a shaking mess when Robert and Philipp were manoeuvring him into the bathroom. Robert’s body heat was far too delicious to let go of him and Thomas was clinging to him with all his strength, not even letting go when the two men were trying to pull him away.

Robert looked at him with sympathy. “How do you want to take a bath if you are fully dressed?”

Thomas didn’t respond but he didn’t let go either. It wasn’t only the cold that was keeping him from letting go. He swallowed nervously as he watched Philipp heading for the tub and drawing a bath in.

 _Water_.

Thomas started shivering even harder. He would have understood if Robert would have laughed at him for being a coward but instead his only reaction was to tilt his head until their cheeks were touching. Robert’s skin was soft but almost as cold as Thomas’, presumably from the harsh wind outside, but still the touch managed to ground Thomas.

“It’s alright, Thomas, nothing can happen to you now. I will stay here with you all the time, alright?”

Thomas nodded gratefully even though he still felt stupid for being so scared. It was just a bit of water and even though the tub was as large as you would expect in a castle, he could easily stand in it.

Robert cleared his throat until he had Philipp’s attention. “I think we are good from here. Would you mind getting some dry clothes for Thomas?”

Philipp nodded instantly and without further ado he hurried out of the room. As soon as the door had fallen shut behind him, Robert began walking to the tub and pulling Thomas with him. “You need to get out of your clothes, Thomas.”

He tried to make Thomas let go of him again, but the latter only grasped at him harder. Robert gave him a thoughtful look before surprising Thomas once again. “Do you want me to undress you? You could hold on to my shoulders in the meantime?”

Thomas stared at him wide-eyed, wondering if his near-death experience was messing with his mind. “What?”

Robert smiled at him but instead of repeating the suggestion, he grabbed the edges of his coat that was still draped over Thomas like a black blanket. Thomas allowed Robert to bring a few inches of distance between them but his hands were grabbing Robert’s shoulders tightly, watching in awe as Robert was slowly taking the coat off.

It shouldn’t feel intimate, he was still fully clothed underneath but it felt like he was baring his heart to this man. His shivering became stronger, now less because of the subsiding cold rather than the experience of Robert undressing him.

His movements were unbelievably patient as the young lord began to pull Thomas’ wet shirt up over his body. His eyes met Thomas’ when he reached his armpits and he didn’t need to say anything for Thomas to know that Robert would not just leave if he let go now.

Warily Thomas raised his arms until Robert had pulled the shirt over his head and was throwing it to the ground carelessly. His hands instantly returned to Robert’s shoulders but his grip was lighter now. He felt self-conscious with his torso bared and he was endlessly glad when Robert instantly dropped his gaze. It was hard to tell whether he simply wanted to respect Thomas’ privacy or if the situation was making him uncomfortable.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Thomas told him with a frown.

Robert dropped down to his knees and started to undo Thomas’ belt, drawing the latter’s attention to his long, elegant fingers that were much too close to where Thomas would want them to be.

Oblivious to Thomas’ inappropriate thoughts Robert responded calmly. “Yes, I do. Three minutes ago you were refusing to undress yourself, remember?”

“You could have let Philipp do it,” Thomas pointed out. “I bet he has done such things more often than you have; you didn’t have to bother doing it yourself.”

Robert didn’t respond right away, one hand slowly pulling down the zipper of Thomas’ jeans. “I don’t mind doing such things. I used to do them for my brother as well when we were just young boys. He loved spending the afternoons at the lake but he never knew when to stop.” A wistful smile appeared on Robert’s face and his hands stilled as he seemed to relive the memory.

Thomas tilted his head curiously. “Tell me more about your brother. If it’s not too personal to ask of course.”

Robert didn’t seem to mind though. “Only once you are naked and in the tub. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t get into the hot water now.”

Thomas gave him a disappointed pout. “Why though? You were making such a good job at getting me out of my clothes, I was just beginning to enjoy myself.”

Robert’s eyes narrowed to slits and there was a dark glint in them that made excited goose bumps appear on Thomas’ arms. “Really?” His right hand ghosted teasingly over the wet denim covering Thomas’ crotch, causing the younger one to suppress a shiver. He was so lost in the sensation that he let out a surprised yelp when Robert yanked his jeans down in one go, smirking teasingly before his hands flew to Thomas’ underwear.

The younger one stood there, staring down at the man in front of him with unhidden fascination. This felt much too intimate and Thomas tried to remind himself that Robert was only acting practically, that this didn’t have to mean anything. Thanks to the lingering coldness of the lake, his cock was far from ready to get interested but this didn’t stop the pleasant tingling in his stomach. Slowly he stepped out of the clothing dangling around his ankles and took the hand that Robert offered him as he helped him step into the warm water. Thomas hissed as his feet burned with agony. “Aargh! Warming up was much nicer when I was clinging to you.”

Robert laughed at that and the joyful sound echoing off the walls made the hairs on Thomas’ neck stand up. “Well, I might know how to fix this.” He grabbed the hem of his shirt and Thomas was just wondering what he was doing when he stilled again. “Is this okay?”

Thomas failed to catch on. “Is what okay?”

“Me joining you in the tub,” Robert replied swiftly.

Thomas was staring at him with wide eyes, wondering if he had heard right. But then he finally recalled that Robert was also soaking wet and needed a hot bath as well. He blushed, silently chiding himself for jumping to conclusions before responding, “It’s fine, there is more than enough room here for the both of us.”

Robert flashed him a grateful smile before pulling his shirt over his head. Thomas’ throat went dry at the sight of his well-toned torso and he was surprised by how lean and fit Robert was. The black coat Robert had worn during their walk outside had made him appear thinner than he was and Thomas’ had not been prepared at all for the sight of pale, wet skin shimmering enticingly in the light of the room nor for broad shoulders or far too delicious six pack abs catching his gaze.

Robert seemed to be oblivious to Thomas’ staring because he didn’t stop or say anything as he got out of his shoes and socks, opening the zipper of his black jeans before pulling it down.

Thomas swallowed hard when the last item of clothing disappeared and he could freely gaze at Robert’s impressing manhood accentuated by the well-defined ‘V’ starting from his hips and the trail of black hair leading from the navel down towards it. This man was just painfully attractive in every department and Thomas hurried to drop his gaze, not wanting to get caught ogling. Which was not getting any easier by Robert turning to the side and crouching down to dispose his clothes, giving Thomas a good view of his backside. This wasn’t fair at all!

Thomas’ lips were pressed into a thin line while he was watching Robert climbing into the tub as well, his body disappearing inch by inch in the water. He almost flinched when Robert let out a pleased moan. “Oh, this feels amazing! I haven’t had a proper bath in ages.”

Thomas smiled to himself as he watched Robert tilt his head back at the edge to float in the water. It indeed felt wonderful.

“Sooo,” Thomas drawled suggestively. “Now that I was an obedient boy, I think I deserve a reward.”

Robert raised his head to meet his gaze, his eyes flashing with banter. “Oh, really? Well, what do you have in mind?”

“I could think of a lot of things,” Thomas responded as he let his eyes travel up and down the part of Robert’s body that he could detect under the surface. “But actually you promised to tell me about your brother.”

Robert’s face fell. “Ah, yes, I remember.” He pushed himself off the edge and let himself drift towards the other side of the large tub, his face distant and unreadable when he started explaining. “My brother’s name was Mario. People had loved him even when he was just a child. I think it was his eyes, they looked so big and innocent that everybody just had to like him.”

“And you didn’t?” Thomas asked curiously.

Robert snorted. “Oh yes, I did. I hated our father with passion for being so cold and reserved towards me but this wasn’t Mario’s fault, so I didn’t blame him. We didn’t exactly become loving brothers or even friends over the years but my admiration for him helped us getting closer. We at least shared a mutual sense of respect, we knew that we could count on each other.”

Thomas didn’t have to hear the rest to know what must have changed between them; that Robert’s mysterious boyfriend had driven them apart. He decided to focus on lighter things. “What about your mother? Did she love you at least?”

Instantly Robert’s face lit up and his expression became wistful. “Yes, she did. For the first ten years whenever I was crying at night, she used to hold me and sing me to sleep.”

Thomas smiled at the image. “And after those ten years?”

Robert sighed. “She died.” When he caught Thomas’ gaze, he held up his palm. “Not how you think. She died of a natural cause, pneumonia.”

Slowly Thomas swam closer towards him until he was able to place his hand on Robert’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Losing your mother and later your brother must have been devastating.”

Robert looked away. “You don’t have to pity me. It was a long time ago, I barely remember the songs she used to sing to me.”

Sensing that Robert would only close himself off even more if Thomas pressed the issue, he decided to let it go. “When did you leave this manor?”

“Right after Mario’s death.”

“I thought you weren’t afraid of dying?” Thomas retorted and he hoped it didn’t sound mocking. He was genuinely curious to understand this man in front of him better.

Robert nodded. “I’m not. But I wanted to be with my lover more than anything else in the world. And I never regretted choosing him over my real family that has caused me tears and pain.”

After what Robert had just told him, Thomas could relate to that. He fell silent at that, trying to focus on the wonderful heat of the water that had managed to warm him up by now. It made him feel incredibly sleepy and he didn’t notice his eyes drooping until Robert was calling his name.

“Thomas? Thomas, you need to wake up, otherwise I will have to carry you to bed.”

Thomas blinked his eyes open, surprised to see Robert standing right in front of him. “Sounds good to me.”

Robert chuckled. “Really? If I’m carrying you, I can’t dress us and we would probably give poor Philipp a heart attack.”

Thomas sighed in defeat before he turned around to climb out of the water. He tried to keep his gaze vigorously on the pile of clothes on the floor when the sound of sloshing water told him that Robert had gotten out of the water as well. But he was forced to look up when Robert was handing him a black and golden bathrobe to wear. Thomas smiled gratefully as he put it on but froze instantly when Robert turned his back towards him to reach for one himself. It was the first time that Thomas got a good look at his exposed back and his insides clenched in sympathy when he saw the irregular pattern of old scars covering the young lord’s back.

“Was this your Dad’s doing?” Thomas asked. “Did he abuse you?”  
Robert flinched and he hurried to put on his bathrobe, his eyes haunted. “No, he didn’t do this.”

Thomas reached out for him slowly, trying to sound comforting. “You don’t have to protect him any longer. He-”

“It wasn’t him,” Robert cut in. “It was Mario. He wasn’t pleased when he found out about his lover and me. Our fight turned physical.”

This time Thomas didn’t stop to think if this was alright or if he was crossing a line. He leaned forward and pulled the other man into a tight embrace. Robert stiffened at the contact but after a moment he relaxed into Thomas, his own arms coming around the younger one to hold him close. They stayed like this for a while and Thomas could only marvel at how intimate this moment was feeling; much more intimate than undressing in front of each other and bathing together.

Robert seemed to think the same because he mumbled almost inaudibly into Thomas’ shoulders. “I don’t want to let you go.”

Thomas had to smile at that. “Well, you could stay with me for tonight, how does that sound?”

Robert pulled back to look at him. “I don’t know if this is a good idea. You need sleep and I-”

Thomas placed his finger on Robert’s lips to silence him. “I will sleep. As attractive as I find you, I have almost been killed less than an hour ago so I’m not really in the mood to try seducing you. Sorry to disappoint you.”

He smiled and Robert returned it after a moment when he finally let go of Thomas. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. To be honest I would love to spend the night with you.”

His words brought warmth to Thomas’ chest and he wasn’t able to respond, so both of them finished up and left the bathroom in silence. Contrary to Robert’s words there was no sign of Philipp or anyone else outside and they didn’t have to think of excuses or face awkward questions when they were walking side by side towards Thomas’ room.

However Robert faltered in his steps when they reached the door. At Thomas’ questioning look, he explained cautiously, “I haven’t been in this room for a few years but I have some great memories of it.” Instead of elaborating he opened the doorknob and stepped aside, bowing his head slightly. “Please come in, sir.”

Thomas had to grin. “You should consider working as a butler. You might even be able to put Philipp to shame.”

Robert snorted in amusement. “Not really. Philipp is one of a kind, I have never seen a more skilled and devoted butler than he is. He seems to live and breathe for this job.”

He closed the door behind them and walked towards the large windows to close the thick, red curtains while Thomas was walking into the adjoining bathroom to brush his teeth. He quickly checked himself over in the mirror but then shook his head at his own stupid behaviour. This wasn’t a date; that Robert was staying the night probably didn’t mean anything to him!

But it was getting hard to recall that as he returned to the bed. “There’s a spare toothbrush and a pair of pyjamas on the stool to the right of the sink.”

Robert nodded gratefully and Thomas watched him disappearing into the bathroom as well before he was alone for the first time since the incident. Hesitantly Thomas pulled back the curtain just a tiny bit and looked over the estate towards the lake. A shiver ran down his side at the mere memory of the stranger holding him down and he began to feel cold again. He was about to tear his gaze away when something else caught his eye.

A shadow in the reflection of the window.

Thomas hurled around with a startled scream but to his surprise no one was there. He was alone in the room. A second later Robert came bursting out of the bathroom in the clothes Thomas had given him, white toothpaste splattered on his chin as he stared wide-eyed at Thomas. “What happened?”

Thomas stared at him for a second before turning back to the window but the shadow was gone. All he could see were Robert and himself. “I don’t know, I thought there was someone behind me. I could have sworn that I saw something in the window.”

Robert only looked at him worried and Thomas couldn’t blame him, he must be thinking that this detective was now seeing ghosts everywhere. “You had a rough day and almost died. Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you. Let’s just go to bed.”

Hesitantly Thomas nodded and he climbed into the bed, realizing that he was shaking again. Robert wiped his mouth with a towel and then closed the curtain again before climbing in beside Thomas. He was keeping a few inches of distance between their bodies but Thomas could still feel his body and he asked without thinking. “Would you mind holding me?”

He bit his lip as soon as the words were out but Robert surprised them both by moving closer and putting his arm around Thomas’ middle. “Not at all. But you don’t have to be afraid, nothing is going to happen to you while I am here.”

And Thomas believed him as he gave in to fatigue and drifted off into sleep.

 

_The sun was just rising behind the windows. The red curtains had been pulled back and Thomas found himself wondering why the room looked so different, not so dusty and personal things that didn’t belong to him lying around on the shelves. With a frown he stood up, wondering why Robert hadn’t woken him. According to the ticking clock above the door frame it was just past eight o’clock yet Thomas felt like he had just closed his eyes. He got up and froze when he realized he was wearing his clothes from yesterday instead of his sleepwear. Before he had time to ponder about it, there was muffled laughter coming from outside and a second later the door burst open._

_Robert was stumbling in, wearing a long black and white garment that looked similar to the one he had worn at his arrival. He looked different somehow, a tiny bit more youthful perhaps? Or maybe it was just because of the light._

_He wasn’t alone though. He was dragging another man into the room by the hem of his shirt, a handsome man around their age with from joy sparkling amber eyes and hair that was glowing golden in the morning sun. From the way they looked at each other it wasn’t hard to figure out that this man was Robert’s boyfriend. But hadn’t he been supposed to arrive on Monday? Unless Thomas had been sleeping for three days, today had to be Saturday._

_Neither of the two lovers spared him a glance or acknowledged his presence as they pushed the door closed behind them and started kissing each other hungrily. Thomas just stood next to the bed and stared at the pair, his heart aching at seeing Robert kiss another man without caring about Thomas being in the same room. He wanted to say something but he found himself unable to speak or move away, eyes trained firmly on the scene unravelling in front of him._

_The blond was walking Robert back towards the bed, pushing at his chest as soon as Robert’s knee bands hit the edge. Robert fell onto the mattress with a laugh and didn’t put up much of a fight when the other man climbed on top of him though he reminded him, “Slow it down, Mario just left the castle. Maybe he has forgotten something and comes back. How do you want to explain this to him?”_

_The blond straddling him shook his head. “Oh no, Robert. We finally have four days that we can spend together without having to fear that we might get caught and you are not going to ruin it with your overthinking.”_

_Robert chuckled before reaching up to card his fingers through the strands of gold. “I’m just worried what will happen if Mario ever finds out about us. I’d prefer if we told him ourselves.”_

_“I know. But we can’t and you know that.”_

_Robert nodded sternly. “But what you said about the two of us running away, did you mean it?”_

_His lover smiled warmly and he leaned down towards Robert’s face. “Every single word. I love you, Robert, and I’m tired of having to hide my feelings for you. You are all that I need in my life to be happy.”_

_The honesty in his words was so strong that even Thomas felt deeply touched and he couldn’t blame Robert for his teary eyes._

_“I love you too, Marco. More than words could ever express.”_

_They closed the distance between them, their kiss passionate but slow and full of their feelings for each other. Thomas could see the edges of his vision blurring and the last thing he was able to see was Robert slowly reversing their position to take charge…_

Thomas opened his eyes and for a moment he saw nothing but pitch-black darkness. Then his eyes began to adjust and he could see the faint outline of Robert’s face up close.

It had only been a dream. Or perhaps a vision?

Thomas realized with a start that Robert’s eyes were open and that he was watching him closely. “Are you alright, Thomas? You were murmuring in your sleep.”

Thomas took a moment to gather his thoughts before reaching over Robert’s shoulder to switch on the light at the bedside table. “Your boyfriend’s name doesn’t happen to be Marco, does it?”

Robert’s eyes widened in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“I had a dream about the two of you in this room. You were talking about running away together.”

He expected Robert to either tell him that it was rubbish or not believe him but Robert nodded thoughtfully. “I remember that. My brother had just left on a business trip and we had a few days to ourselves.” His eyes darted curiously between Thomas’. “You didn’t have a dream, you were seeing a fragment of my past. Jakub was right, you might be a medium.”

“And being in this room and having you hold me triggered a flashback,” Thomas concluded.

Robert nodded. “It makes sense. Not only did you get a trigger, you were also sleeping which makes you more sensitive to supernatural forces.” At Thomas’ curious look he added, “I told you I have a keen interest in this stuff. Kind of comes with the family history.”

Thomas accepted that quietly and he snuggled against Robert’s chest. “How long did I sleep?”

“It can’t have been more than two hours.”

Pleased at the good news of being able to sleep some more, Thomas asked, “And you were awake this whole time?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Besides I had promised to hold and protect you.”

The reassurance made Thomas’ chest tighten with gratitude. “You don’t have to stay awake to do that. You could just chain me to the bed.”

Even in the dark he could see Robert quirking his eyebrow. “Kinky, Thomas. But I have to decline that offer now. We both are tired and need some rest. Some other time perhaps.”

At least he tightened his arms around Thomas until the latter’s nose was buried in Robert’s neck. And when Thomas fell asleep the second time, he did so without having another flashback, Robert’s scent lulling him peacefully into the world of dreaming.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like this story, please leave some kind of feedback. I appreciate kudos and comments a lot, they would keep me motivated.


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